The Banished
by angelslaugh
Summary: Banished after failing to get Sasuke, Naruto, along with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji all wander the Elemental Nations. Miracles happen as well as heartbreak as Naruto goes to call back the Uzumaki and change the world, and a survivor of the Uchiha Massacre appears. What will happen to Naruto? Kiba/OC, ShikaTem, eventual Neji/fem!Naruto, and Itachi/OC. Sequel is up: The Returned
1. 1

**I know. I have a LOT of other stories I should be posting and editing, but dear kamis this would NOT leave me alone after the idea was presented to me. This story is dedicated to tastybigsexy for giving me the idea.**

 **~:~**

Uzumaki Naruto was kneeling in front of the council. Shikamaru was frozen, Kiba looking utterly shocked, and of course Neji looked repulsed.

Naruto, however, looked resigned.

"You have five hours to get out of the village, monster," Koharu spat. Wood retracted from restraining Naruto. "The rest of you are on probation."

Naruto took off her hitai-ate and tossed it onto the table.

She walked out from her stunned ex-fellow shinobi.

Shikamaru wasn't the only one to see the individual tear falling down Naruto's face.

"With all due respect," Kiba said, stopping everyone but Naruto. "It wasn't Naruto's fault she got stabbed by Sasuke. If Kakashi-sensei had actually taught her jutsu, then she would've won! I lost Akamaru because the Sound Five tried to -"

"Kiba," Naruto spoke. Her voice was distant. "It's my fault Sasuke didn't return. Let me bear this punishment."

The Uzumaki opened the door and walked out.

Kiba bowed and stalked out of the room, Neji not even deigning to bow to the council, simply curling his lip at them and leaving in a dignified strut.

Shikamaru eyed the council, the earring in his ear hurting. He was a Chuunin now.

"Is there something you wished to say, Nara-san?"

Shikamaru looked at Koharu.

"I'm not sure you're right about Naruto being the monster," he said after a moment. Kind, brash, loud, smart-but-acting-like-an-idiot Naruto being a __monster__?

That was like calling a tame, non-Tora housecat a lion.

He left with a short nod to the council. Well, it was more like 2/3 of the council. Shimura Danzo hadn't attended, and obviously the Hokage wasn't there.

He didn't know what to do. This whole business left a bad taste in his mouth.

~:~

Asuma raised an eyebrow at his student's demeanor.

"Chouji will be fine," Asuma comforted his student. "He was awake when I went to see him."

Shikamaru nodded. "I know, I promised to visit him. But..." He paused. "That's not..." Shikamaru sighed. "The council banished Naruto."

Asuma blinked. He'd heard that __someone__ had gotten banished... But why __her?__ The council obviously didn't realize that the jinchuuriki was someone important to Konoha.

"They can't banish her." Asuma had heard his grandfather speaking on how the jinchuuriki of Konoha __belonged__ to Konoha since he was a kid. "She belongs to Konoha."

Shikamaru looked at him.

"Naruto is a human being, no matter what she carries." Asuma stared at Shikamaru. "I think I'm going to go visit Chouji. I concede the game."

Shikamaru stood up.

~:~

Naruto kept a __henge__ on her and she entered her home, taking a deep breath. She slowly started packing. Mr. Ukki was gone, a note, a scroll, and a blank hitai-ate on the top of it.

 _ _Naruto,__

 _ _I heard about what happened. I was given this hitai-ate again - but I recalled a class where they burned the sigil with chakra into the metal. I was able to burn the layers down and create this. Well, I had Kakashi's help, so he gets__ half __of the credit.__

 _ _Until you return, I'll take care of your ugly little plant that you named Mr. Ukki, I think...__

 _ _Drop the idiot mask, Naruto. Nobody outside of Konoha will blink at your seriousness.__

 _ _I love you like a father, Naruto. Kakashi cares for you. Oh, and in the scroll Kakashi left you some personal items - DO__ NOT __OPEN IT until you're out of Konoha. Don't spend all your money on Ramen, avoid becoming a pervert, and stay__ sober. __Don't get involved with any yakuza to get money. And__ AVOID GETTING KILLED!

 _ _If you don't come back alive, Uzumaki Naruto, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself.__

 _ _Sadly, the Council forbade me or Kakashi from seeing you off. But Kakashi left a ninja dog to see you off.__

 _ _I love you, Naruto.__

 _ _Iruka__

And below that...

 _ _Yo, my kawaii genin!__

 _ _There's so much I want to tell you. How proud I am of you, how great I think you are... No, the last was NOT sarcastic. Also, I promised Iruka I wouldn't turn you into a pervert, so no Icha Icha for you!__

 _ _I wanted to tell you about your father. This is what I can tell you.__

 _ _He died the night you were born, sealing a great evil into a newborn child. His wife was a pretty redheaded woman with a demonic temper.__

 _ _I'm not sure how much you already know, but I'd ask that bijuu inside you for the full details. Just tell him to spare you the sexy details, because I'm pretty sure you don't want to see your parents... Having sex.__

 _ _Plus, I'm sure I traumatized you enough already.__

 _ _My sensei woud be proud of you.__

 _ _We shall meet again, Uzumaki Naruto. Be it as enemies or allies... We will meet again.__

 _ _Hatake Kakashi__

"Oi, gaki."

Naruto jerked and looked at Pakkun, who just now revealed himself.

She burst into tears and hugged the summon.

She stopped and apologized to the summon.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "It's just so frustrating."

Pakkun shook his head.

"You're pack," Pakkun said. "And pack is protected. Whether or not it's from sadness or not. Gaki, you have a gift. Use it."

He looked out the window.

"I'd hurry if I were you," the summon warned. "ANBU are approaching."

Naruto nodded, got up, and shoved the scroll, note, and headband into her pack. Kunai, senbon, and shuriken were stowed safely away. Her clothes were carelessly shoved in there, too.

"Gaki."

Naruto turned, and Pakkun gave her a big grin.

"When you get a chance, wear a henohenomoheji."

Naruto beamed at him. "And I'll slant my headband over my left eye then, too!"

She bounced out before Pakkun could say a word, smile fading when she realized this was probably the last time she'd be here.

She removed the Uzumaki swirl from the door, thinking she was lucky she had the Uzu swirl attachment on her clothes.

She sighed and left the key there.

She started to walk, taking in the sights she'd never see again. She spotted Kiba in a crowd of people near a stall - the stall with the mask.

The man glared at her again.

"Come for the mask, __demon?"__

Naruto blinked at him.

Silently, she handed over twice the amount. The man's jaw dropped, then he swallowed.

"Take it," he said.

Naruto took it off the hook and kept walking, the glares and insults bouncing off of her.

She stopped at the gates and released a breath.

Kotetsu and Izumo eyed her with a small frown.

They never hated her, not even disliked her. Sure, she played pranks, but she wasn't cruel to the 'Eternal Chuunin' as some genin were.

"Bye, Kotetsu-san! Izumo-san!" she called. A little quieter, but still the chuunin could hear her, "Good-bye, Konohagakure no Sato."

She took her first solo steps out into the world.


	2. 2

Hyuuga Neji glared at nothing in particular as he ate with Hinata and Hanabi and his uncle.

He could no longer bear it.

"It's not fair!"

Hiashi sighed. "Neji, we know you hate being in the Branch family, but that's the way it has to be."

Neji stared at his uncle blankly. "What?" he asked in a genuinely confused tone. Then he shook his head. "I'm not talking about that. Naruto got banished."

"She failed to bring back Uchiha -" began Hiashi, but he was cut off by Neji slamming a fist on the table, his lavender eyes flashing.

"We __all__ failed, Uncle," Neji spat. "Yet they banished Naruto. Who fought Gaara. Who __beat__ Gaara. Who..." It was inconceivable. "Who defeated __me.__ She couldn't beat Sasuke because Sasuke was her __friend.__ Why weren't __we__ banished as well? Unless it has to do with the creature inside her."

Hiashi's jaw dropped. "You __know?"__

Neji looked at his uncle like he was stupid. Looking at his two daughter, he saw the __exact__ same expressions mirroring their faces.

"Uncle, there's __red__ in her chakra. Unlike with Kakashi-sensei, her chakra isn't red as a whole," Neji said matter-of-factly. "Plus, I doubt the Yondaime..." Neji trailed off. "The Yondaime is her father!"

Hiashi froze. Now that he thought about it...

"They sent Minato's daughter away." His wife, if she were still alive, would be in a fury right now. Himawari had been a friend, not particularly close, but still a friend, of Kushina. And Hizashi would be angered at their choice - Hizashi had had a crush on Kushina.

"There isn't anything we can do," he said regretfully.

Neji scowled.

~:~

Kiba saw Naruto pass him, a mask in hand. People were yelling at him, but drifted away only to glare at Naruto as she passed.

The young girl had always been a rival of Kiba's, but Kiba suddenly realized with a start that the glares and hate and taunts were __normal__ for her. For a girl who'd done nothing wrong.

Kiba walked home, not for the first time missing his ninken companion.

He heard angry questions being directed at him - __Why didn't you bring back the Uchiha boy?__ \- but they only made him angrier.

Akamaru had __died__ to defend Kiba from the Sound nin.

He stepped into his family's compound and entered his home. Usually, he'd be hungry, but he wasn't today. No, the thought of food made him feel __sick.__

Tsume looked at him with motherly concern. "Are you alright, Kiba?"

Kiba didn't answer for a long moment.

"Kaa-san, why does everyone hate Naruto?"

She pressed her lips together and set her spatula down.

She told him a quick story about how a child had a dangerous demon sealed in her, and how nobody could talk about it thanks to a law, and the child was thought to be the demon.

She told it as factually as possible.

Kiba was smarter than everyone thought, so he was struck mute for a few minutes after Tsume's words.

"But that's so..." Tsume nodded, grimacing at the thought of her Kiba being turned into a demon lover -"...wrong! How could they punish the girl because of something she couldn't control?!"

Tsume froze.

"How the __hell__ can they shun a __child__ who didn't __know__ that law? How can they hurt a __kid__ and laugh about it?!"

Tsume coughed. "She's a __demon,__ Kiba -"

"Naruto is __not__ a demon," Kiba hissed. "She's a kid who had the misfortune of being the __only baby__ who could withstand holding the demon! Did you __ever__ think for a __minute__ that if she was a __demon__ she'd have put up with this damn village? Kamis above, __I'm__ beginning to wonder why it's still standing if that's the kind of crap that you think even a __demon__ would be okay with! Why the __hell__ did you think that __Uzumaki Naruto__ was a demon?! She's a __human being!"__

Kiba stood up, his chair falling to the ground with a crash. He stormed into his room angrily and slammed the door.

~:~

Shikamaru sighed as Chouji slept.

Then the machines changed tone, and Chouji's eyes opened.

"Hey, Chouji," Shikamaru said to his friend.

"Hi," Chouji replied. "Did you bring any food?"

Shika shook his head.

"Naruto got banished," he informed his friend.

Chouji blinked. "Did you?" Chouji wondered, in case his friend was a currently wanted ninja.

"No." Shikamaru sighed. "I just came to say I'm still thinking on what to do."

The nurse entered. "Sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are over, Nara-san."

Shika sighed yet again.

"Mendokuse," he said out loud as he stood. "I'll see you later, Chouji."

Chouji watched his friend leave.

"I wish I could go with you," Chouji said quietly, already knowing what his friend would do.

~"~

Nara Yoshino looked at her sullen son for about two minutes at the dinner table before she thwacked him on the head.

"Nara Shikamaru, speak your mind or I'll use my spoon," she threatened him, lifting her wooden spoon for emphasis.

"I don't think she should've been banished alone," the young chuunin said bluntly. "It's not her fault that she has a bijuu sealed in her. If anything, __we__ should have been blamed, clan or not."

Yoshino and Shikaku stared at their son.

"I'm not sure on what to do," the young Nara explained.

Nara Shikaku sent his wife a knowing look. His son knew what he was going to do, he just hadn't figured it out that he already knew.

Well, his son was going to need supplies, so...

He stood up, ready to go get them, when Yoshino's wooden spoon cracked on the back of his head.

"SIT DOWN!"

Meekly, he sat. Yoshino got up, instead, and left the kitchen.

Shikamaru smirked at his father's meekness.


	3. 3

Kiba left his house at dawn, having raided his mother's kunai and shuriken supply. He'd filled out the appropriate forms to quit being a ninja, and it seemed like as soon as he'd put his hitai-ate down, a blank, shiny one appeared. It looked new.

A note had also appeared after that.

 _ _You're going to need the hitai-ate, gaki.__

He'd picked it up and tossed it in his pack, silently mourning the loss of his ninken.

But he steeled himself and left through the window.

His sister stood there, a raised brow on her face.

"Don't stop me, Hana," Kiba said, tensing.

"Don't be an idiot," Hana snapped. "I'm not here to stop you. If I was, Mom would be hauling your ass back inside." Hana eyed him for a moment. "Look, I'm not saying that what your doing is right, nor am I saying it's wrong. Just... Come back, soon, little brother. I'm not so sure I can handle Mom on my own."

Kiba hugged his sister.

"Now go," Hana said, shoving him away after a minute, then literally kicking his ass.

He yelped and dashed away from his bad-tempered sister.

~:~

Neji walked out of the room, all the needed belongings (and lots of cinnamon scones... He'd sweatdropped at that) in his knapsack. There wasn't much use in sneaking out in a clan full of people who can see through walls, now was there?

The Hyuuga he __did__ pass simply acknowledged his leaving. Hinata had decided to stay. Perhaps Hiashi had told them Neji was leaving, quite possibly or not.

 _ _Your path is yours, Neji-nii-san. I can only hope to live up to any expectations one might give you.__

Chuunin or not, he and Naruto were similar.

And he'd follow her. That, it seemed, was Fate.

~:~

Shikamaru got up __at dawn.__

A pack was already packed for him - he sweatdropped as he stared at the note stapled to it - and all he had to do was leave.

All he really wanted to do was sleep, but if he slept any more, the trail Naruto might have left would be gone.

He walked out the front door, passing the Nara guards.

He was glad his dad was letting him keep the earring he had.

~:~

Neji, Kiba, and Shika all started to leave the village at the main gate. But they stopped when a cough was heard.

"I can't condone your leaving if I see you leave," Hatake Kakashi said, looking at them all. "But I think I'm too interested in my book right now, so all I'm __not__ going to say is that she's probably headed to Wave, and I'm not going to say to their leader, who I'm also not going to say resides in the carpenter's home. And I'm certainly __not__ tossing you all blank hitai-ates to match Naruto."

Kakashi continued reading and walked off after handing them said blank hitai-ates (except Kiba, as he already had one), whistling.

"To Wave it is," Shika decided.

The three stepped out of Konoha.

~:~

Naruto was walking slowly when she heard her name being called.

"NARUTO!"

 _ _Kiba?__ It was midday. She'd stopped at night, then had began to walk at about twelve.

(What? She'd just been banished. Hunter-nin couldn't come after her.)

Similar blank hitai-ates glared out at her. She blinked, and Neji, Kiba, and Shika stood in front of her.

"Baka, did you think we were going to stay away from you because you have the Kyuubi sealed in you?" Kiba joked with a grin.

"You should have stayed," Naruto said, frowning a bit. "I had nothing keeping me in Konoha. You guys had everything."

"Nah," Kiba said, slinging an arm around her. "We're gonna travel the world together, Naruto-baka!"

"Medokuse," Shikamaru sighed. "I thought it was simply logical to come out here. Bijuu container or not, you deserve more than being tossed away like yesterday's trash."

"Plus, nobody really gave a damn that we __tried,"__ Kiba pointed out. "They blamed us for not getting that idiot Uchiha back."

"Fate has led me here," Neji said shortly.

Naruto sweatdropped at that last comment, but smiled tearfully.

"Thank you!" she gasped out, hugging Kiba. Then she frowned. "How the __hell__ did you know I had the Kyuubi sealed in me?!"

"It's __obvious,__ " deadpanned the Nara and the Hyuuga.

"My mom basically told me," Kiba added.

"Oh," Naruto said after a moment. "Wanna meet him?"

There was a pause.

"Uh..."

"He can't get out of the seal," Naruto said, smiling at her friends. "And I'll make __sure__ he knows his limits."

Kiba shrugged. "Eh, why not."

Shika sighed. "Whatever."

"If that's what -"

"You say 'Fate' or 'destiny' one more time, Neji, and I'll slap you," Naruto warned.

Neji remained silent.

Naruto closed her eyes. __Be nice, Kurama.__

 ** **Yeah, yeah. Just let me meet the gakis.****


	4. 4

**It is almost impossible for me to write a story without a LITTLE bit of humor. Rest assured, the humor will NOT be the main part of the story. There are some random bits here and there (like an extremely OOC moment of one of the characters... It's in a really later chapter, though.), but the humor WILL NOT overpower the story like it kinda did in Of Seals and Uzumakis. Don't like? Don't read. Flames will be used to... Do SOMETHING in this story... Like power Amaterasu. :D**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~:~**

Shikamaru instantly saw the difference. The whisker marks were deeper, and when her eyes opened, blazing red eyes glared at them.

 **"** ** **You all look like maggots to me,"**** was the first thing out of the Kyuubi's mouth. **"** ** **Any of you hurt my little kit, I'll rip you to shreds. Got it, ningen?"****

The Kyuubi looked serious.

"Yep," the three boys said at once.

Then the Kyuubi's eyes widened. **"** ** **You're all**** ** _ _ **guys,"**__** he said, as though it had just occurred to him. His face became dark. **"** ** **You take away precious Naru-chan's chastity, I'll rip you into**** ** _ _ **non-identifiable shreds. GOT IT?!"**__**

All three boys had lost color.

"Yes!" they gulped.

Naruto's eyes flashed and became blue.

"I told him to be __nice,"__ she said, looking dismayed. She bowed to them. "Gomen, Kiba, Shika, Neji."

"No, it's fine," Kiba reassured her. "Let's just get to where you're going!"

The four ex-Konoha nin walked.

~:~

"Here it is," Naruto beamed. The Great Naruto Bridge was in front of them in all its glory, tolls being paid. Naruto went to step foot on it -

"You have to pay to go through! 10 ryo per - Naruto?!"

"Haku?!" A girly-looking boy launched himself at Naruto, and Naruto hugged Haku back. "It's so nice to see you!"

"And you!" Haku smiled. He saw the other three behind her, wearing blank, shiny hitai-ates.

His smile faltered. "Naruto-chan, what happened to you?" His eyes sought his friend's.

"I got banished," Naruto said with a happy smile. "I was actually coming to see you. Pedestrians have to pay?"

"Only if they're not the hero of Wave and her companions," Haku smiled. "Come, come," she urged, ushering them onto the bridge. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Yuki Haku," Haku introduced nicely.

"Hi, Haku," Kiba grinned. "Wanna go on a -"

"I'm a guy," Haku explained, never missing a beat and still smiling. Kiba and Shika facefaulted.

Haku turned a smile onto Neji.

"I'm Hyuuga Neji," Neji said, lifting his head. "Those two are Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba."

Haku nodded politely at them.

~:~

"Zabuza! Tazuna-san! Tsunami-san! Inari-san!" Haku darted in. He never came in so early, usually content to working on the bridge, but he did early today. "Naruto's visiting!"

Zabuza looked up at the gaki and her three guy friends with a grunt.

"Huh," he said. "You're an eyesore."

"Nice to see you again," Naruto nodded with a smile. "Eyebrowless freak."

Zabuza glared at her.

"I do need new clothes, though," Naruto added after a moment. "Maybe later, though. I just thought I'd stop by."

Haku smiled at her. "Well, I can fix you up with some clothes!" he said brightly. "Nara-san, Kiba-san, Hyuuga-san, please excuse us."

"As unexpected as it is, Inari, set out a few more bowls."

The kid, who had been staring at the other ninja, nodded and scampered through the kitchen.

~:~

Naruto stepped into the kitchen, looking completely at ease in loose clothes that Haku had bought there in Wave. It was similar to what the ancient seal masters used, and Haku smirked at the looks on the boys' faces.

While they were too young to get it, Naruto would be a heartbreaker when she grew older.

"So, where ya headed?" Tazuna asked the savior of Wave.

Naruto set her spoon down.

"About that." She looked at Tazuna. "I was hoping you could help me with that. Could you tell me where the Uzumaki of old lived?"

Tazuna blinked. "Sure. Fish Island. There ain't much there, not anymore, since Kiri helped destroy it in the Second Great War."

Naruto looked hopeful. "Is there any way we can barter passage?"

Tazuna laughed. "Gaki, you don't pay here."

Naruto pouted. "But I..."

"No." Zabuza stood up. "I'll take the gaki there myself. I have the stamina to do so, anyway."

"Fish Island is four days away," Tsunami said, blinking.

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Haku said with an unnaturally bright grin. "How about I just use my Hyoton and create a meltable path through the water?"

There was a pause. Again.

"Why not?" Zabuza said with a grin. "You want to use it freely. Go ahead, kid."

Haku grinned.


	5. 5

****You actually listened to me. I'm impressed.****

 _ _I always listen to you, excluding when you want to kill people.__

Naruto followed Haku through the water. The Hyoton was like an ice rink, and Naruto was grateful that she didn't have to concentrate on moderating her chakra.

Her friends had let her do this alone -

"Naruto-san. It would be remiss if you left all of us behind," Neji said blankly.

-except for Neji.

She rolled her eyes and kept running.

Uzu waited.

~:~

It was more terrible than Naruto thought.

Everything - __everything__ \- had begun to dissolve. The place she could have called home was __gone.__ Of course she knew that it wouldn't have still stood.

But it was like a terrible weight to her chest.

She strolled through the ruins. Grass had long since grown over the rubble.

 ** **It's more decrepit than I recall,**** Kurama said.

 _ _You were here like, twelve times tops, Kurama.__

 ** **Che.****

Naruto headed for the center of the island, where the heart of Uzushio was.

"Naruto," Neji said, making her pause and turn after entering the rubble of what seemed to be buildings. "It seems that we cannot enter here."

Haku nodded. "Indeed. Neji-san, will you please use your Byakugan to keep an eye on her as she travels through?"

Neji summoned said doujutsu. "Ready," he intoned.

Naruto nodded and kept walking.

She found herself at the foot of what once seemed to be a great and proud staircase that ran to a crumbling building. It seemed to be the immediate center of the island, so with minor trepidation she went in.

The floor inside seemed untouched by time. Gleaming stone led to a throne.

 _ _Should I sit on it?__ Naruto wondered.

 ** **Kid, you're one of the last Uzumakis. The Royal throne will either kill you or accept you as viable heir. If either happens, you're still going to end up a different girl than when you came in.****

 _ _Kurama... What does it do?__

 ** **I don't know, you moron. Sit in the chair. That's what Mito always cautioned me.****

 _ _Who sat in the chair in her time?__

 ** **Nobody. It hasn't been sat in since the founding of Uzushio... I think. Eh. I forget.****

 _ _Ever so helpful as usual, Kurama.__

She walked up to it. There was another, less elaborate one next to it.

 ** **That was for the Uzukage. Since the Royal Bloodline of Uzushio was lost a long time ago, that's the chair they sit in. Nobody knows if the Royal throne has actually had a Royal sit in it - by the time of the Uzumakis fully coming into power, the Royal line was long thought lost. Still, I'd say be cautious... That throne most likely has a thousand booby traps in the form of a million seals.****

Naruto cautiously touched the elaborate one. Then raised an eyebrow when her finger started dripping blood. The chair didn't seem to care about her touching it, so why not sit in it?

She turned and surveyed the room.

Hmm, there __were__ cracks in the floor.

 ** **Naruto, don't sit -****

Naruto sat down.

 ** **THOSE AREN'T CRACKS, YOU RECKLESS FOOL, THOSE ARE SEALS! I TOLD YOU**** ** _ _ **NOT**__** ** **TO SIT DOWN!****

Naruto gulped as the seal started to glow.

 _ _Sorry?__ She offered as the light shone outward. __Kurama, what's happen -__

Naruto's body __erupted__ into fire. Pain filled her entire body as she sat, immobilized, in the throne.

She couldn't think. She didn't know what was happening, why she felt such __crippling pain.__

~:~

 _ _When you come, call me and I shall return.__

Uzumakis all over the world felt and heard those words.

Almost automatically, people began to move towards it.

~"~

A "god" in Ame was busy talking to the rest of the Akatsuki in the HQ when, without warning, their leader stopped, froze, and looked __dead.__

Konan entered the room and gently tugged the body out of the room.

Itachi was the only other one other than Deidara to actually wonder why that happened.

~:~

Every cell in her body was changing. The Uzumaki cells in her body changed her hair to a bloody red. Ink appeared, a very obvious yin-and-yang tattoo appeared where the ANBU had their tattoos.

Her body shook as it was changed.

Of course, the seals in the chair recognized the girl's age, so they didn't change __too__ much. Just gave the girl additional smarts, some cool new looks... And when her eyes opened, they were no longer cerulean blue. They were aquamarine. The scar marks looked quite exotic as her naturally tanned skin went a shade paler. Her body became more elegant-looking. She was still lean, but that was normal as she __was__ a ninja.

And there were several seals proclaiming who she was in discrete areas. The last in the royal line. The reincarnation of Asura. There was kanji for 'nine' on her other shoulder, hidden by the robe, as the yin-and-yang seal was.

Throughout all of this, Naruto was wide awake.

Then, the light flared, and it vanished soon afterwards, the seal hiding itself.

She heard footsteps, and she looked up at Neji and Haku, whose jaws had dropped at what she looked like.

"Hurts," she said through a cracking voice. "Real bad."

 ** **It'll be okay, kit.****

Kurama slowly made her drift into sleep.


	6. 6

Neji picked her up in a bridal style. The great castle was now gleaming and reconstructed, but he had passed through much destruction on the way there with her friend. He knew it was Naruto because he'd watched her with his all-seeing Byakugan stand in front of the throne before sitting on it, his mouth shouting a warning she couldn't hear as chakra surged up to slam into her.

And now there she was, looking far more feminine than she had before, with blood red hair darker than he'd seen. He'd go so far as to say it might be the original color of the Uzumaki hair.

And then he'd seen a pulse of chakra that harmlessly passed him and Haku.

His eyes had seemed to short out for a minute as it passed, but when he saw again he could see perfectly fine with both his Byakugan eyes and without.

He walked Naruto out of the castle.

"We should head back to Wave," he informed the other. "That - whatever it was - probably brought a lot of attention."

Haku nodded shortly before he started to run to the ocean side. Neji followed, but at a lesser speed.

Destiny had brought them here.

And if Naruto was awake, she'd hit him for even __thinking__ about destiny.

~:~

 _ _Konohagakure__

Iruka flinched at the Hokage's angry aura. Tsunade was __pissed__ off.

And the entire roomful of ninja who had been summoned could see it.

Tsunade, it seemed, had been asked to leave with Danzou for a quiet meeting with the Kazekage (which ultimately ended up with Danzou on the run with an entire legion of ninja all to himself and a newer treaty with the Kazekage), and when it came to her attention that Naruto had been banished and several ex-ninja had left to go after her... Well, needless to say, she was beyond angry.

"At least she's not alone," Kakashi said, making Tsunade turn to him.

"You __condone__ this?" she demanded.

"Naruto does not belong __to__ Konoha," Kakashi replied blandly. "I'd say it was a hell of a better choice than Danzou getting his dirty little fingers on her."

Tsunade scowled at him. "You let her __leave.__ Did you even know?"

Kakashi didn't answer that one, avoiding the Hokage's eyes.

"Actually, Tsunade-sama," Iruka said, standing but refusing to meet her eyes, "Kakashi-san and I were forbidden from being able to see her off. You weren't in the village, and hunter-nin would've gone after her in the village."

Another chuunin, this time in a white lab coat and reading a scroll, cleared her throat. "We have two hunter-nin altogether," she said, looking up at them briefly. Kakashi gaped at her Uchiha looks. "Tsunade-sama," the girl added, bowing.

"What's your name, gaki?" Tsunade frowned.

The girl's eyes darted to her scroll and she pushed her glasses up. "Uchiha Saki, Tsunade-sama. I'm not a part of the Uchiha clan, as I was banished for going into Cryptology. Fugaku-sama called me a disgrace, then kicked me out. Naruto-chan is a good friend of mine."

"Saki-san, you __do__ know that all but you, Uchiha Sasuke -"

Saki flinched violently at that name.

"-and Uchiha Itachi were wiped out, right?"

Saki nodded. "I do. I __didn't__ know my friend left," she pouted.

"I'll speak to you later, Saki-san."

Saki bowed, then went back to her scroll.

Umino Iruka cleared his throat.

"I believe that Naruto will survive," he said, having complete faith in his ex-student. "And I also believe that Naruto will return soon."

"And speaking of how I knew," Kakashi spoke up. "As soon as I stepped into this village, the Elders were there. I am her sensei, so they __had__ to inform me."

~:~

Naruto woke up, feeling... Fine. She was dressed in clothes, her skin was a healthy pale, her blood red hair cascaded down her face -

She froze. Then she freaked, shoving her curtain of hair in front of her face. She eyed her skin, touched her face -

She darted to the bathroom.

"WHY IS MY HAIR RED AND LONG?!"

Downstairs, Zabuza eyed up above him as the shriek sounded through the house.

"Eyesore's awake," he commented idly, sharpening his blade.

"She's not much an eyesore anymore," Haku said, setting out the takoyaki. "She's actually quite cute."

Zabuza turned to the nineteen-year-old.

"Are you a pedophile?"

Zabuza yelped as a senbon needle made his hand slip a little bit, Haku still smiling gently.

"I'm remarking on her __cuteness,__ Zabuza," Haku said in a glacial tone.

"Still, we have to leave. I do not feel safe in one place," Neji said. "No offense," he added at the owners of the house.

"No, it's not a problem," Tsunami smiled. "You're ninja. I think Zabuza only settled here because he wanted a good life for Haku-kun."

Shikamaru eyed the side glance said Swordsman gave Tsunami.

"Actually, Tsunami-san, I think he has a crush on you."

Tazuna choked on his steak.

Before he could say anything, Naruto came down, her hair weighing her down and making her head lull forward.

"Tsunami-san, do you have a ponytail holder I can borrow?" she asked Tsunami.

"Of course." Tsunami got up from the table.

"So where are you headed next?" Tazuna asked Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "I just got up. Not sure where I want to go," she admitted.

"We could go to the Land of Iron," Kiba suggested.

"Shinobi are forbidden from going there," Shika said with a frown.

Neji coughed. "Shinobi from a __hidden village__ are forbidden. Our hitai-ates declared us unallied, yet not missing-nin. They have no proof - aside from our last names - that we're ex-Konoha shinobi. However, Naruto looks like an Uzumaki, has the name of an Uzumaki, yet is unallied. She would be our spokesperson for any samurai we get involved with."

Naruto nodded. "And we're not technically fugitives. Just wandering shinobi."

"Which means that we're going to need to go through the Shimo no Kuni, Yu no Kuni..." Shika eyed the map he pulled from his pack. "Naruto, we're going to have to go through Oto no Kuni."

Naruto eyed the map. "I thought that was the Land of Rice Paddies."

"Some guy bought the Daimyo, turned it into a shinobi village. I'd go through Hi no Kuni, past Konoha and the Capitol. It'd be less time-consuming," Tazuna mentioned.

"Yeah, but I can't exactly pass so close to Konoha unless I want two hunter-nin after me," Naruto grimaced.

Tsunami came into the room. Shika hadn't even noticed that Zabuza was absent.

"Oh!" Naruto snapped her fingers. "Why don't we just go through Yu no Kuni and then through Oto on our way? It'd be much safer, since we wouldn't have to pass through Frost."

"Oh, that's right. You __would__ hate cold temperatures. The Kyuubi's the demon of fire, isn't he?" recalled Shika.

"You, my brilliant friend, are a genius," Naruto deadpanned sarcastically.

Shika snorted. "Yu no Kuni it is, then Oto. Yu no Kuni's not as far as Uzushio if we run."

"Nope," Naruto beamed.

"I could take you there!" Haku offered nicely. "It's so __boring__ not being able to use my kekkei genkai."

Naruto nodded. Tsunami brushed Naruto's hair back.

"What are we going to do when we hit ninja-populated areas?" Kiba asked, clicking a pen insistently.

"Nobody will mess with us. Hyuuga or not, I will wear my headband on my arm and proudly show off the cursed seal. It will show them I am proud to be an Hyuuga," Neji said bluntly.

"Great!" Beamed Naruto. "We could also break into Kumo and take your father's body back, Neji."

Neji blinked.

"That is an option. We should send him back to the Leaf. Where he belongs."

"Should you really be discussing that in front of us?" Tsunami asked, pinched and worried.

Naruto smiled nicely at her as Tsunami went back to her seat.

"I'll make sure that if I die they send my remains to the hunter-nin," she said with an unnerving smile. "Not to you, Tsunami-san. If you __do__ get a package from Kumo, have Zabuza open it."

That make Tsunami smile a little.

"Oh, I'm sure that they'll dissect us before that ever happens," Neji said with a slight smirk.

Naruto blinked at him.

"Probably." She picked at her food.

"We should leave," Neji said. "Like, in the next hour or so. I heard a big shipment was coming in from Kiri. Something or other about them importing spices."

"Some Konoha nin are coming to obtain them," Tazuna nodded. "I allowed that. I heard one of them was also going to be a Cryptographer. Dunno why."

"Yeah, we should go." Naruto stood up. Neji had their packs ready almost immediately. "If a girl named Saki is the cryptographer, will you tell her I said not to worry, and I'm fine?"

Tazuna grunted. "Why not?"


	7. 7

Sakura groaned. "Seriously, what gives? I thought we were supposed to wait for Naruto to come back. That idiot is always messing up!"

Ino flicked her hair. "I can't wait to see Sasuke-kun."

Tsunade opened the door and stepped out onto the roof of the Kage tower, looking far more serious than the crowd of genin and civilians had ever seen on her face.

"I was recently out to see the Kazekage," her voice boomed, "who through a very small margin escaped death. It seems he is half-Uzumaki and used a forbidden - to any but that family - technique to survive. However, Shimura Danzou has been found of conspiring with Orochimaru and is considered to be a Kill on Sight for all ninja. If any of you see him, then contact the nearest shinobi."

Tsunade's serious brown eyes suddenly changed. Killing Intent leaked out at the crowd.

"I'm sure by now that most of you have heard," Tsunade said, her voice quiet, but still clearly heard, "that Uzumaki Naruto was banished. This was a direct result of the failure of the Sasuke Retrieval Mission."

There was a sudden uproar.

"Good riddance!" Sakura shouted along with Ino. Naruto __failed__ her promise.

"SILENCE!" Tsunade boomed.

Silence ghosted upon the entire square.

"You didn't know Naruto." Jiraiya stood next to Tsunade. "Her father. Her mother. To all of you she was a loudmouth, an idiot. Well, you're __dead__ wrong."

Tsunade took a deep breath.

"12 years ago the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi no Youko into his only child. His and his __wife's,__ Uzumaki Kushina's, daughter. I do not know the Yondaime's reasoning, but Uzumaki Naruto looked very much like the Yondaime, you blind fools." Tsunade glared at everyone and at Sakura in particular, who looked ashamed. "The Yondaime's wish was that you look upon her as a hero. However, to be honest, I'm glad you didn't hold her in high praise, otherwise my granddaughter might never have learned humility. Just like the Uchiha they __failed__ to retrieve. Yes, I said my __granddaughter,__ " the Godaime emphasized. "Namikaze Minato was mine and Jiraiya's son."

Jiraiya smirked at the crowd.

"Now," Tsunade said after recollecting herself, "I have come out to tell you this. Uzumaki Naruto's banishment is revoked. Should she desire to come back, she will come back. If any Konoha ninja sees her, you are not - I repeat, __are not__ \- to force her return. Naruto is her own person, no matter what she holds. And," Tsunade added, "any generic Hyuuga - or anyone with clear eyes - could've looked at her and seen that if she was the Kyuubi, we would've all been dead the instant that child was able to stand."

Tsunade turned around, Jiraiya following her.

~:~

Naruto hugged Haku goodbye. "I'll send a few letters from Tetsu no Kuni."

"You better," Haku smiled. "And none of you better get killed. Or I'll kill you."

Naruto nodded, then hugged her friend tighter.

"Naruto," Neji sighed. "If we want to make good headway we have to leave. Now."

Naruto nodded with a sigh.

"Alright," she said, reluctantly.

Haku stood there until they were out of sight.

~:~

The four walked. It was a companionable silence, until at last Naruto decided to break it.

"So, Neji, I think that if we sent a letter ahead of us to Koyuki-hime's palace in Frost, we could hire a missing-nin from Kumo to give us the information we need." Naruto's comment made Shikamaru blink.

"You were the team to help Kazahana-sama get rid of her uncle?"

Naruto turned and smiled at them. "Yep!"

"Do you think she'd be too happy that we're using her to hire a missing ninja from __Kumo?"__ Kiba asked, shocked.

"Last I heard, Koyuki-hime had a great career as an actress __and__ ruling her country. As long as I don't hire the ninja to kill her, I don't think she'd care," Naruto replied flatly. "Besides, we're hiring the ninja to give us __information.__ We'd need to find someone who is a missing-nin from Kumo first, though..." Naruto scratched her scarred cheek.

Yeah, they'd definitely need help.

~:~

Kazahana Koyuki read the letter. Three times.

 _ _Kazahana Koyuki-hime-sama,__

 _ _It's Naruto, the blonde chick who helped stop those Iwa nin with that guy, and it's the chick you kissed on the cheek in my sleep? You know, that chick?__

 _ _Yeah, well, I was kinda hoping you could help me with something. I need to hire a missing-nin from Kumo, but I don't know who, because I need intelligence on Kumo for a reason I decided not to write down in case this message is intercepted.__

 _ _Oh, and enclosed is a new picture of me and my new ninja squad. We're__ not __missing-nin, we're unaffiliated nin. Originally we were headed to Tetsu no Kuni, but decided to travel through your land because I need to get to Kumo.__

 _ _If you can't help, that's okay. We'll just stop by and said hi!__

 _ _Sincerely,__

 _ _Uzumaki Naruto__

 _ _PS: We left after the guy, like a couple hours, and I'm pretty sure we passed him. Twice. So we might be a few hours away from the palace.__

Koyuki looked at the picture. An annoyed-looking lavender-eyed boy with no pupil stood next to her stiffly, while a boy with red fang marks below his eyes glared at the girl in the middle through the corner of his eyes. The last boy was slouching off to the side. The girl in the middle was smiling sheepishly, and Koyuki sighed.

It __was__ her. Nobody else had those whisker marks.

Luckily for Naruto, Koyuki was actually dealing with an ex-Kumo ninja.

"Bring the ninja here," she ordered with a grin.

Her servants blinked at the look on Koyuki's face.


	8. 8

Kaminari Hatori was an ex-Intelligence ninja, who had rather stupidly gotten herself caught by the princess' guards. She was an 'ex' Kumo ninja because she disagreed with the inhumane way that her Kage decided to treat that just-barely-alive Konoha ninja. Mostly just blood taking and trying to use that blood to replicate the doujutsu he had, but sometimes they hurt him.

She didn't like that.

And the princess had made it to where ninja trespassing on her personal grounds were taken directly to her, then probably tossed in the dungeons to rot.

She looked up as some of the guards entered, and was surprised to see that they weren't holding any cuffs of any sort.

"Will you cooperate? The princess wishes to see you," one of the guards said.

"Yes," Hatori promised, her heart starting to beat rapidly. "I will cooperate."

The guards led her out.

~:~

Naruto shuddered violently as the cold pierced through her clothes, and finally she couldn't take it anymore.

Hopping behind a large snowbank, she quickly changed into her jumpsuit, yelping when her skin hit the cold air.

Everyone else had their winter parkas. Naruto had her ugly jumpsuit (she liked it, though. Orange was a __fantastic__ color).

They traveled on for another hour.

Koyuki's palace came into sight, and the four ninja shared grins.

Finally! They raced ahead, Naruto seeing the production company's building.

"Why couldn't Koyuki let it be spring?" Naruto grumbled as another flurry of snow exploded over her.

They were halted at the gate.

"What is your purpose, ninja?" someone asked. Naruto straightened.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, and I request a visit with Kazahana-hime-sama," she said in an impressively serious voice.

"You're the girl that helped liberate our homeland!" one guard shouted. "I saw you and your team!"

"Oh, so you recognized me?" Naruto frowned.

"The marks on your cheek, yes. Thank you! Let them through!" the guard ordered.

Reluctantly, they were let through.

The group walked into the castle, that same guard escorting them. Once in, they were taking to the banquet hall.

Inside, Koyuki was dining with a ninja who had a slashed Kumo headband.

"Koyuki-hime," Naruto tentatively called.

Said lady looked up, and stood. "Naruto-chan!"

Naruto beamed as Koyuki wrapped her up in a hug.

"Nee-san, meet Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba!" Naruto introduced.

Koyuki frowned, but politely nodded at them. Then she briefly returned her attention to Naruto.

"I assume you're on a mission from Konoha?"

Naruto shook her head, still smiling. "I got banished!" she cheerfully announced. "Because Sasuke - the one with the uchiwa fan on his back - is a teme and stabbed me. So yeah. We're actually here to speak to Kumo-ninja-san and get some intelligence. That's why we asked you."

Koyuki nodded, expressionless. "I see. Come, eat. You look like the cold had gotten to you."

"I had to change into this behind a snowbank," Naruto said, making a face.

Koyuki snorted inelegantly. "Only you, I suppose."

They sat.

"So, you're a Kumo ninja?" Naruto addressed the ninja.

"Ex. My name is Kaminari Hatori, at your service."

Naruto nodded. "Where can we find the corpse of a Hyuuga?"

Hatori frowned. "You can't."

Naruto frowned. "Did they cremate him?"

Hatori shook her head.

"You misunderstand. If you're looking for a corpse, you'll find nothing. Because he isn't dead."

Neji stiffened.

"The Hyuuga they have is still alive."

Neji scoffed.

"That's impossible. He committed suicide!"

"It's possible if they stuck him in a scroll designed to keep prisoners alive," Naruto said quietly, watching her face. "You know who did it, don't you, Kaminari-san?"

The woman looked like she was biting back words, but they flowed out.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know - it was a test, the man wanted to see what I could do -"

Neji stood up.

"You did it?" he asked in a whisper.

Hotaru looked __ashamed.__

"Neji, sit __down."__ Naruto didn't speak any louder than a normal tone of voice, but it caused him to sit down. "I understand why you did it, Kaminari Hatori. You will show us a way to break into Kumo. You will tell us, in __explicit__ detail, what exactly is being done to the man. If you supply us will any false information, I will assume you tipped them off and I __will__ come back for you."

Naruto's voice never raised. It was actually kind of quiet.

But everyone took notice. Naruto's aqua eyes stared at Hatori, unwavering.

Hatori bowed her head, defeated.


	9. 9

"The aqueduct is your way in, and your way out. It supplies the cells with all the fresh water you need. I guarantee that if you loose all the prisoners and ask them nicely to create a diversion while you go up and steal something even __vaguely__ important, they'll go all out to do so," Hatori said, a map of the entire village spread out. "From there, you can head out by way of the ocean. The aqueduct feeds into the prisoners' drinking water, but only goes in them once every hour. I don't know the specific times, but the best time you have either way is an hour. After that, the prisoners will be most likely killed. If they're not, they're tossed in the dungeons again." Hatori paused, licked her lips, and continued. "Prisoner sealing scrolls are on the second shelf in the same room as the Hyuuga, who is two floors up."

"I can get that done," Naruto said, looking at the maps.

"What about all the samples that were taken?" Neji asked.

Hatori shrugged. "All of them are discarded at the end of the day because they're usually no good. Also, if any of you have wind affinities, I'd use that to kill any ninja on your way."

Naruto coughed.

"Hatori-sensei," the girl said with a blush. The ex-nin raised an eyebrow at her, thinking she was being mocked. "Um... What's an affinity?"

Shikamaru sighed.

"You know my thing with shadows?"

Naruto nodded.

"That's a close tie-in with Earth," Shika explained. "Like I can summon a mud wall."

"Oh!" Comprehension dawned. "So like Kakashi-sensei can!"

"Except he created a lightning jutsu. His affinity is lightning," Shika patiently told her.

"I'm not sure what my affinity is!" Kiba said all of a sudden, looking kind of down. "I had Akamaru."

Shika awkwardly patted his arm.

"Nothing can beat my Kaiten," Neji said flatly. "I'm the best out of all of us."

"Except, I have the Rasengan," Naruto said with a foxy grin.

Hatori choked on her own spit.

"You're the daughter of the Yondaime!"

Naruto opened her mouth -

-and stared into nothingness.

"Holy crap," the teen breathed. "I am so __dense!"__

"I agree," three other voices said in unison.

~:~

Naruto was lucky that the aqueduct was a fairly smooth ride.

Some poor soul was going to go thirsty because of them, now... But the mission was worth it. Hatori even agreed to set up a distraction.

Mainly, blowing up the power plant.

Naruto fell through an opened grate, landing on top of the ninja dogpile that happened.

"Okay," she said, getting up. "Everyone ready to do their missions?"

They nodded.

As it turned out, this cell was empty and open. Shikamaru and Kiba broke open the other cells as quietly as they could manage.

Naruto stopped at one cell.

Inside was a redhead, looking despondent.

"Oi."

The redhead looked up. And gaped.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo!" Her verbal tick popped out, nothing prompting it. "You should probably __run__ if you're an Uzumaki 'cause we're causing enough havoc as it is."

She opened the cell.

The Uzumaki slipped out and bowed. "Uzumaki Nia at your service."

"Just run, Nia. I have a job to do." She flashed the woman an awkward smile and hurried out of there.

Neji, Shika, and Kiba were behind her. Swiftly, the four peeked around the corner. Nobody.

But then someone entered the hallway, dressed in a lab suit. Naruto had an idea, looking at Shikamaru and looking back at the lab coats.

Shika nodded.

Naruto pressed a hand on each of their clothes and only __slightly__ altered it, simply adding a labcoat and changing their features. Naruto then did herself last, then hugged Shikamaru as they passed, and pretended to sniffle in sadness.

They passed, Neji and Kiba awkwardly patting her back.

The four adopted a natural walk.

Kiba and Shika split off, to cause more chaos and draw out more shinobi, the four agreeing to meet back up in about forty minutes at the aqueduct. Naruto and Neji aimed for the place Neji's father was.

Once in there, they got busy. Neji and Naruto avoided looking, and instead destroyed the samples.

Then Naruto walked over to the shelf and opened the prisoner scroll. It was a life-holding one, and Naruto walked over to the Hyuuga's body. Blushing, she picked up the sheet to make sure there were no visible seals on him, shoving it down when she realized he was naked.

"Neji, please look your father over for seals," she said to him, counting down. Twenty minutes left.

Neji did so, avoiding looking at his face.

"None," he reported.

"Okay. We'll need to nurse him to health when we get to Tetsu no Kuni."

Neji accepted that. "Okay," he agreed.

Naruto sealed his father into the scroll.

"So he was what you're after."

Naruto tensed, turning and faking the scroll's handing over to Neji.

"Get to the meeting point," she ordered him.

Without hesitance, he darted out.

The Raikage eyed her.

"You're nothing more than a girl. What do you think you can accomplish?"

Naruto grinned wolfishly, lunged -

\- and ran like hell when he moved out of the way.

True to her thoughts, he followed.

She turned forward and summoned a clone, who quickly formed the Rasengan.

She took down a wall.

She was running over jutsu names and seals that she knew, and she knew one that worked best in an open area, civilians or not.

Well, Kurama was letting her use it.

As soon as she was outside, she breathed and focused on gathering her chakra. Raindrops pelted her.

A cloak of power ran over her. Her jinchuuriki features became more pronounced. She turned, nine red tails appearing behind her and fanning her. No longer did she have the __henge__ up - her loose-fitting clothes were enough to give her the look of an angel. The marks and the hair made her look like a specific fox god.

Her eyes flashed, the aquamarine more pronounced.

"Kitsune: Power of a thousand raining drops!" The rain stopped, the Raikage letting her do this jutsu. "Kitsune: Power of a thousand winds!" A fan appeared in her hand. And the wind __stopped.__

"RAGING NATURE, UNLEASH YOUR FURY!" Naruto's fan flashed out, batting the power of the rain and wind against the Raikage, who flew backwards.

Naruto sped past him, back into the building. She was faster than her father, it seemed, for when the Raikage blinked, she was no longer there.

Naruto could see the aqueduct closing, and she piled on the speed.

She slipped in, and she let the aqueduct flow, hoping and praying that the others made it out okay.

~:~

She coughed violently as she fell onto the sand. The nature power had been weak to the Kyuubi's usual 'power of a thousand'. And, when Naruto thought about it, it was actually kind of like a spell. Huh.

 ** **You humans**** ** _ _ **need**__** ** **an incantation.**** ** _ _ **I**__** ** **don't,**** the Kyuubi scoffed.

She brought out the real scroll and blinked when Neji silently offered her a hand up.

She smiled in thanks.


	10. 10

Together, the four made it past Koyuki's place (who assured them that Hatori did make it back, but was traveling with an Uzumaki named Nia), and to Yu no Kuni. They briefly stopped to rest there.

"Ah, this is the __life,"__ Naruto sighed, closing her eyes in blissful relaxation.

The guys were looking pointedly __away__ from her.

Naruto rolled her eyes and used her gender-twisting abilities to her advantage.

"I'm a guy now. Happy?"

While she didn't __identify__ as a guy, it would suit her needs for now. If it stopped them from being uncomfortable at sharing a mixed-sex onsen thing with her, then she'd get used to bathing in her male form.

The mixed onsen opened up, and Naruto opened her eyes at a familiar voice.

"-mixed genders, you idiot! We're __sharing__ because we can't afford the separate pay right now!"

Naruto stood up at seeing the Ichibi's container.

"Gaara!" She swiftly changed sex midjump, luckily for her she had her towel on.

"...Naruto?" Gaara asked blankly.

Naruto peeled herself off her friend.

"Hai!" she beamed. "So did you guys - Oh, damn, you didn't." She noticed their headbands, and they weren't missing-nin. "On a mission?"

His sister, what's-her-face, nodded, looking kind of shocked. "You?"

"Nope!" Naruto said cheerfully. She stepped back in the bath. "I got punished for not bringing back Sasuke." She didn't add that she got a scar from Sasuke, either. It didn't come up in polite conversation. She always had a light __henge__ over it.

The three Sand-nin entered.

Naruto cocked her head. "Who's the last guy?"

"Kankurou," Gaara's sister said.

Naruto scowled. "Hey, I'm sorry, but I forgot your -"

"Temari-san. Nice to see you again," Shikamaru interrupted.

Naruto turned to him. It must be the heat affecting her, because Shikamaru was __blushing?!__

"Nice to see you," Temari nodded at him.

"So, I assume things are better between you and Gaara?" Naruto asked, casting around for a new subject.

Temari nodded. "Yes. Gaara confronted our father, who told him -"

"You're dad's alive?!" the four out-of-the-loop ninja said in sync.

"No, that was just a Ketsueki bunshin," Gaara said, very plainly.

Naruto stood up in shock. "YOU MEAN HE'S AN UZUMAKI?!"

"Yes... Is that really such a big deal?" Kankurou asked.

Naruto hugged Gaara again.

"We're family!" she said.

"...Naruto, you are making me feel highly uneasy," Gaara finally said as she kept hugging him.

She nodded and released him.

"...I didn't even get a greeting..." Kankurou said.

"You look weird without the clown makeup," Naruto said, very plainly. She recalled her genin photograph and shuddered (that photo was mostly to keep her mask up...). "I hate clown makeup," she added as an afterthought. "And puppets are creepy."

Kankurou gave her a filthy look.

~:~

The four parted ways, heading into Oto territory.

"So, this is the land of Sound..." Shika muttered.

"I thought it was Oto," Naruto said, shivering at the ominous feel of the place.

"Sound, Oto, same name, different words," Kiba said. "Naruto, do you know of anyone that could help us send Sasuke back to Konoha in a bodybag?"

"One of us would be taken out with him," Naruto said in a quiet voice.

"You weren't!" Kiba protested.

"I only lived because some of my heart remained," Naruto said flatly. "And the Kyuubi is good at healing. And I'm good with __henge__ s."

Naruto walked quicker, discouraging any talking.

~:~

When they were out of Oto and at the checkpoint into Tetsu no Kuni, they took off their headbands and slipped them away.

"State your purpose," the samurai demanded, stopping them in the middle of the road.

"We're here to rest and recover, and to get emergency treatment for a friend we had to seal away to save the life of," Naruto said, no insolence in her tone. "We are unaffiliated ninja, and we will not use ninjutsu except for healing said dying friend, and self-defense."

Shikamaru sighed.

"We're really in a time constraint," he said as the samurai stared at them. "Our friend is actually __dying.__ "

"Nimueh." The samurai in front of them spoke. Another samurai, a warrior woman with dark hair and flinty eyes, appeared in front of them. "For the duration of your stay, Nimueh will be your guard and, if you decide to hurt anyone - excluding cases of clear self-defense - she will stop you."

Naruto bowed. People were staring avidly at them as Nimeuh put bracelets on them.

"Chakra trackers," Nimueh said. "If you take them off, I'll kill you. If you use chakra in a hostile way, excluding self defense, I'll kill you."

With that cheerful note, Nimueh guided them into Tetsu no Kuni.

~:~

Naruto's needs- meaning, a fully equipped room with all they could need for their stay, including an emergency medical room (who knew Nimueh was a good healer?) - were all met. The five were staying in a set of apartments that apparently __belonged__ to Nimueh, too.

As soon as the older Hyuuga was out of the scroll, Naruto and Nimueh went to work. Mostly Nimueh, though, as she knew what she was doing and telling Naruto what she was doing in precise terms.

Samurai knew how to heal with chakra, which was cool.

After it was done, all they could do now was wait for Hizashi-san to wake up.

~:~

Naruto was bored.

It'd been two weeks since they arrived. Naruto had run out of patience of pretending to read her scrolls, and Neji was practicing in the garden his katas.

Naruto sat up and went out there with him.

"Can you help me with my katas?" she asked him, stopping him.

"Of course," the unruffled Hyuuga said. "Show me your stance."

Naruto __thought__ her stance was fluid.

Neji's badly hidden wince made her dismayed.

~:~

"-doing it, Neji! Damn it, I've gone over these katas forty times already, give it a _rest!"_

Hyuuga Hizashi frowned to himself a little. Neji? His Neji?

"If your katas and stances weren't so abysmal, Naruto, I wouldn't _have_ to keep correcting you." Yes, that was his Neji. Naruto... Naruto... It took a minute, but his brain reached the conclusion he was looking for. Minato's girl. Kushina's baby.

"My katas are so _abysmal_ because Mizuki-teme led me astray!"

"As you've said ten times. Get up. We're doing it again."

Hizashi opened his eyes, blinking against the sunlight. A redhead moved in his field of vision, and for a minute he _swore_ he saw Kushina.

But no, the whisker marks said differently.

And her wide aquamarine ones staring back at him made him blink.

"Neji..."

"I said do the -"

"Your dad's awake, Neji!"

 _There_ was the exuberant energy Kushina possessed.

His son peeked out -

-holy _shit,_ his son had grown up.

Hizashi swallowed.

"Hello, son."

Neji jumped through the window. "Naruto, tell the others!"

Naruto beamed and nodded and vanished.

"I thought she had blonde hair," Hizashi commented.

His son blinked. "She did. We're still getting used to it."

~:~

"Guys!" Nimueh, Shikamaru, and Kiba looked up from what they were doing - which was helping Kiba with stances (Nimueh and Kiba) and reading a scroll (Shikamaru). "Neji's dad's awake!"

"Good to know," Nimueh nodded, then promptly got back to showing Kiba the correct stances.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's troublesome, but I guess that when's he's on his feet we'll have to escort him back to Konoha. Or the Land of Fire."

"No, I'll escort him to Konoha in a _henge,"_ Naruto offered.

"We're not splitting up. From what you told us, you used the Kyuubi's power to hit the Raikage," Shikamaru said, ignoring Nimueh's sudden stillness.

Naruto clenched her fists. "I had no choice." Naruto recalled seeing the many bodies there, civilian and shinobi.

Bile rose in her mouth and she ran to the bathroom.

She'd ignored it for three weeks, shoving it to the back of her mind, but now... She felt so sick.


	11. 11

Nimueh had told her higher-ups of the beast inside Naruto, and the group of four (now five) left the home, Hizashi already well enough to travel.

Once he had woken, it seemed he had literally dived into training to walk, run, and flow through the Hyuuga katas, relearning it all in a matter of days. Naruto saw where Neji got his genius.

"With your permission, Uzumaki-san, I would like to travel with you," Hizashi said politely.

"Call me Naruto," Naruto insisted. "And it's no trouble, really."

They walked out, into Oto. Naruto tensed.

"I don't like traveling through this place," Naruto admitted after a moment. They were following a path clearly marked 'To Hi no Kuni'.

"No," Kiba agreed. "It's not a place I'd want to stay in overnight."

The last time they'd managed to cross the country in a day because the four wanted to avoid Sound nin.

They heard voices ahead. Naruto paled and ducked behind a bush, dragging Hizashi with her.

"Sorry, Hizashi-san," she hissed. "Conceal your chakra."

Hizashi focused, and Naruto worked on spreading her chakra thin. Spreading it was better than holding it in and letting cracks in her concealing vanish. It was better than being sensed by the man that was standing a mere few feet away from them.

Yakushi Kabuto.

The others seemed to get the idea and concealed their chakra. Naruto used the smokeless Transparency no Jutsu, quickly showing the handsigns to Shikamaru, who copied them, showing them to the others really fast. Once they were all concealed, Naruto turned to look at Kabuto. She closed her eyes and her hearing sharpened almost instantly.

"-not going to be fine. I want this woman captured."

"May I ask why?"

"Research, of course. And to satisfy my curiosity. You want to continue questioning me?"

"No, sir."

"If I have my intelligence correct, she is traveling with four others. One is a weak Hyuuga, another is the genius of the clan, and there are two other clan heirs. Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba. All five are __extremely__ dangerous. The reward will be given to all of those who bring her to me, __alive.__ I don't care if she's harmed. Just that she's alive."

"Yes, sir."

"To reiterate: I want the Uzumaki girl __alive."__

Why? Why was Kabuto out so far and demanding her alive? Sure, she'd showed him up when fighting him when trying to retrieve Tsunade, but he was still alive then. He must have been acting on Orochimaru's orders.

"Now go. My sources say she should be arriving on this stretch of road soon."

The others left, Naruto wincing as their footsteps drummed in her ear.

Then a new voice appeared.

"Sasori-danna couldn't come, un."

Kabuto turned. "I see," he said. "I am trying to get the Uzumaki girl for him."

 _ _The hell?!__

"Tch, why he wants to see the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is beyond me, un. Are you sure trusting __them__ is something you want to do? Sasori-danna won't be pleased with you saying that."

"I bet it would be better to go to them rather than posting pictures of her face up in the several countries she is hero-worshipped in," Kabuto said icily.

 _ _Leave, please.__ Naruto's control on her chakra was about to snap.

"I should get back before Orochimaru finds out I'm gone. He has his hands full training his dearest Sasuke, after all."

Naruto let out an audible gasp.

Luckily Kabuto was gone when her eyes opened.

"Nobody is here," Neji said, making her yelp and jump.

The Transparency Jutsu wore off. Naruto took a deep breath.

"Who the __hell__ is Sasori?" Naruto demanded. "And why is he looking for __me?"__

"Perhaps sending a message to Gaara-san would suffice once we hit the nearest city in Hi no Kuni," Neji suggested. "I believe that he might know more than I. All I know is that he's a sort of puppet artist."

"And Suna is the one with the puppetry corps," Naruto nodded.

"First," Shikamaru interrupted, "I think we should get Kiba some weapons."

Naruto looked at Kiba. "You're probably right," she winced. Sure, they'd been safe in Tetsu no Kuni, and he had been able to fight with kunai in Kumo, but he was definitely starting to feel the loss of his companion.

She looked at Shikamaru, at a loss. Most towns didn't cater to both shinobi __and__ civilians -

"Let's go to Tanzaku Gai," Shikamaru sighed. The seediest town in all of Hi no Kuni, filled with all sorts of people like thieves, yakuza, and __shinobi suppliers.__

And casinos. It was on their way, too.

"Okay!" Naruto chirped. "Let's get the __hell__ out of Oto, then."

"Naruto, are you sure you don't want to find Otogakure?"

Naruto looked towards Neji.

"I am sure," she said after a moment.

Hizashi just looked a bit puzzled.

~:~

"I see," Hizashi said as Neji __finally__ filled him in on what he was doing. "I will stay with you, my son. I missed all of your childhood, but I should have been there for you," he said, ruffling his son's hair.

Neji didn't even pretend to scowl and look away. He enjoyed basking in the attention his father gave him, and his father was actually affectionate to the others as much as him.

Even to Naruto, who looked kind of shocked when he'd ruffled her hair.

They made it out of Oto after two more stops, just to fill up on rations.

When the sign that said 'HI NO KUNI' popped up, they hurried over to it and collapsed, safe on Hi no Kuni ground.

But they picked themselves up. Tanzaku Gai was very close to Konoha, meaning they had to be extra careful.

"You know," Naruto eventually said. "It's hard to believe we've been away from Konoha for more than a month."

Shikamaru snorted. "It is. Very hard."

"Understatement," Neji muttered. "But I'm glad I left. I wouldn't have been able to rescue my dad if I hadn't." He didn't smile, but there was a pleased look to him.

"I wouldn't have met Nimueh-san," Kiba sighed.

"We got kicked out because of me and my stupid fox," Naruto deadpanned. __Love you, Kurama. But it's the truth!__

 ** **I know, idiot.****

 _ _You've been quiet. Something you want to tell me?__

 ** **Just thinking, idiot gaki.****

Naruto suppressed a smile. __I suppose, with you being stuck inside me, it would make things boring.__

 ** **Understatement of the century.**** Kurama sighed deeply, but complained no more.

Naruto frowned.

She had to look at her seal, see if there was any way to let him out for at least a few hours. He deserved more than that, but still.

She sighed. __Can you wait a few more days? We're headed to Tanzaku Gai to get some supplies. Can you hold of until then?__

 ** **I've been in solitude for a long time, gaki. Thinking to myself is the highlight of my existence,**** the demon said dryly.

 _ _What if you had a body? Like... Oh my gosh, I'm such a moron. Kage bunshin! I can use your chakra, place you in a Kage Bunshin!__

 ** **No. Not right now. You might need your chakra,**** the beast said. ****Maybe when we hit Tanzaku Gai.****

 _ _Alright, fine.__

She sighed again.

"Something wrong, Naruto?" Hizashi peered at her.

"Just that the Kyuubi's making sense," she muttered. "Baka kitsune."

 ** **I heard that.****


	12. 12

**This chapter contains high OOCness for Neji. Apologies, but I DO like a little bit of humor in my stories. Things WILL start to pick up... REAL soon. :D**

 **Enjoy~**

 **~:~**

Uchiha Saki, the literal last Uchiha (in Konoha, anyway), scanned the shipment manifest with a bored air as they unloaded.

She turned and smacked the co-captain with the thing.

"Nothing's here, moron! I didn't need to come on this mission!"

Saki noticed that the Konoha ninja were getting a few looks from a kid, and they weren't particularly nice ones, either.

"I'm going to get a drink," she grumbled, massaging her forehead.

She missed her shut-in, overflowing with paper little broom closet. She even missed her ridiculously overworked three colleagues and the two lazy hunter-nin that loved dropping by to play cards with the Nerd Squad.

She went to the bar in the town, instead, and showed her hitai-ate off.

"One whiskey."

"Whole thing?"

Saki nodded shortly.

The entire bottle of whiskey was given to her.

Someone sat down on the stool next to her, and she merely blinked when she realized it was just Zabuza of the Seven Swordsman (Kakashi had made it __crystal clear__ to the nerd and the co-captain that Zabuza and his little friend were to be left __alone,__ and if they told __anyone__ they'd be tortured by Ibiki in the worst possible ways. Saki didn't have the mindset for being tortured, so she went along with it) sitting next to her.

"You Saki?"

Saki nodded.

"That little eyesore, what's her face, the one with the Ramen name?"

Saki looked at him with wide eyes. This was the first time in the three weeks she'd been helping with Mist shipments she'd even spoken to the natives, and the fact that they were all glaring didn't help matters. But Zabuza approached her, and was speaking of Naruto!

"Yeah?" she squeaked in a high-pitched tone.

"She said to tell you that she's fine and not to worry. Last I heard they were headed to Tetsu no Kuni, but they could've vacated that place by now," Zabuza informed her.

"Thank you," Saki breathed. She could tell Tsunade to stop worrying about her. She was fine.

"No problem," Zabuza grunted. "Oh, and the little eyesore looks much more like an Uzumaki than she ever did."

Zabuza drank his sake.

"Do you always frequent bars and get shitfaced?" Saki asked with zero concern. It was really just curiosity. She could smell the copious amount of alcohol on his breath from her seat.

"No, I'm not shitfaced. It takes a __lot__ to get me drunk," the swordsman admitted.

"Huh," Saki said. She started chatting with him, her questions mostly about his abilities and his anatomy - his body was well-built. Purely for curiosity.

~:~

Naruto and her group entered Tanzaku Gai.

"So, we have barely any ryo left, and we have to buy supplies and Kiba a sword," Naruto muttered.

"We could try our luck at the casinos," offered Hizashi.

Naruto pondered that.

"That's a good idea," Naruto admitted after a few minutes. "Neither Kyuu nor I actually have any other good ideas."

However, as they split up, Naruto realized just one thing.

 _ _She didn't know how to play any of the games at any of the casinos!__

~:~

Neji walked alone, his unmarked hitai-ate gleaming and gaining many looks.

He was very careful, making sure that nobody stole what precious little money he had left.

"Hey."

His attention was caught by someone.

"You're a Konoha ninja, right?"

He blinked at the man in front of him. Oh, right. He was Hyuuga, and he walked with the stately walk that all Hyuuga walked with, even his easier-going father did it. And of course, he had the distinct eyes of the Byakugan.

"No," he answered truthfully.

"Then why don't you join us?"

Neji wondered if they were yakuza.

"Are you yakuza?" he asked quietly.

"Yep," the man said, puffing his chest out.

"Then no," Neji said flatly.

The yakuza man growled. "Punk! Think your too good for us?"

"Yes," Neji said honestly. "I should be leaving now."

"Oi! Neji! Look at my sword!"

Kiba's idiocy was never more welcomed.

Neji turned, turning his Byakugan eyes on discreetly, and offhandedly struck the attacking yakuza member's chest, making him said back and toss into a store.

He doubted his father would approve of his next move. However, when questioned, he would just say that it was temporary insanity.

"Kiba." Kiba blinked at him, looking away from the shiny, reflective surface of his sword. "Let's go rob the merchant whose goods we just destroyed."

Kiba stared at him, but nodded.

Neji thought that Naruto was rubbing off on him a little.

~:~

 ** **Good, kit. This is the best hand.**** Everyone around Naruto looked at the redheaded Uzumaki, who frowned at the cards.

 _ _Kurama, I just realized that I can't read.__

 ** **...that's an oversight we need to amend. Fast.****

 _ _You said that when you wrote the letter to Koyuki-hime, but it isn't amended yet. And you said that when you told me what the letter said.__

 ** **Shut up and say 'Full House' when you have your hand on the table, moron.****

"Full house," the Uzumaki said, setting down the cards.

Everyone groaned as she won.

~:~

Hizashi smiled politely at the woman in the weapons' shop. He had no idea what weapons the children needed, and since Naruto had said that she would buy more when she was done winning, then he could do nothing but buy a few of each.

He perused the weapons.

"Can I help you, sir?"

He looked at the woman. She looked like an impeccable character.

"Yes, you can, actually. Have you any normal shinobi weapons? Kunai, shuriken, senbon?"

Most of the store was bare, with only extremely pricey swords on the wall.

And seal paper.

"We'll have some tomorrow, but since the yakuza are here they mostly buy it up," the woman said, grimacing. "The only things they don't buy are the seal paper and the sealing scrolls. Oh, and the swords, but none of them are really for sale."

Hizashi eyed the wicked blades.

One of them was a katana. He nearly picked it up, but he refrained. There was a sign that said NOT FOR SALE below the katana.

Instead, he sighed and looked at the sealing supplies. The ink, scrolls, sealing paper, and even a few books on the art of Fuuinjutsu was sitting right there.

And it was in the price range, too.

He gathered the supplies up and set them on the counter with a sigh. He'd just have to bring Naruto here tomorrow.

The lady put his items in a bag with a bright grin.

"Here's a few order forms if you're a traveling ninja!" the lady chirped, setting the forms inside the bag as well. "They're valid in all countries! Have a __fantastic__ day, sir!"

Hizashi gave her a small, kind smile.

"You, too, miss," he smiled kindly.

He hoped Shikamaru was having better luck at the post office.

~:~

Shikamaru sighed as he wrote Gaara. Naruto had refused with a blush on her cheeks, but he didn't -

-kami __damn__ it, she couldn't read! Or write! No wonder she'd looked embarrassed.

He groaned softly. It was because of the Kyuubi Naruto had noticed those signs.


	13. 13

**Please do not hate me, everyone! I've been on a small trip. I just got back! To make up for this, I will be posting three more chapters of this story and I will be posting more of Changes and Of Seals and Uzumakis! Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. Also, I will start answering questions that any reviewers leave behind at the bottom, so please don't be afraid to comment! Any flames will be either ignored or used for ammunition~**

 **Read and Review, please~ angelslaugh out~**

 **~:~**

Neji and Kiba, flush and running, appeared in their hotel room after Hizashi had arrived and secured them a room. Or two, because Naruto was female and nobody wanted to anger the female of the group.

"What did you two do?" Hizashi asked with a small smile.

"Robbed a cabbage merchant after destroying his stall," Kiba said cheerfully.

Hizashi kept reading.

"Oh, that's nice."

For five minutes, he ignored them.

Then, he calmly got up as their answer finally sank in and set his book down.

"You did __what?"__

Neji flinched a bit.

~:~

Naruto stopped playing and cashed in her chips. Most of them were rather astounded at her luck, but she only smiled sheepishly and kept playing.

Leaving with a stuffed Gama-chan, she managed to meet Shikamaru coming out of the post office, looking a bit irritated.

"Naruto, next time, please tell me that you can't read," Shika scowled.

Naruto gulped. "Oh. Sorry about that - Iruka-sensei didn't know, so I didn't say."

Shikamaru nodded. "Hey, if you don't know how to read, how did you learn the Kage Bunshin?"

"Pictures," Naruto said with embarrassment, ducking her head. "The handseal was there, so I figured 'pour chakra after making handsign'. It worked."

Shikamaru facepalmed.

"You're such a moron," he sighed.

"I get told that every day," the Uzumaki heiress admitted with a small smile.

~:~

Converging in the hotel room, Naruto showed off her winnings to everyone. Who stared at her in slack-jawed surprise.

"You're good at that," Kiba said, sounding surprised.

Naruto shook her head. "Nah, this was the first time I played." She took in their shocked expressions, then sighed.

"Guys... I can't read."

Everyone stared at her. Like she was crazy.

"What?" Neji asked, surprised. "Then how did you pass the Chunin Exams?"

"Faked it," Naruto said. "Doodled instead of answered - wish I could've seen Ibiki-san's face."

"What about in the Academy? Iruka-sensei asked you to read in front of the class multiple times." Kiba folded his arms. Naruto winced.

"I always caused trouble," she said. "He'd yell at me, then ask someone else, remember?"

"What about the signposts? You're the one that's always calling it out," Shikamaru guessed.

"Nope, the Kyuubi was the one that read the signs and told me, then I would yell it out," she told them, looking down, ashamed. Saki had tried to teach her, but Saki usually forgot because books were more interesting than teaching someone.

"...What about your winnings? You __had__ to be the best cheater," Kiba refuted.

Naruto shook her head. "Every hand I got won the round. The ninja there even demanded to know if I was cheating, but I told them I wasn't. I can't read, guys. Kyuubi can't teach me because he's lazy, and so I was wondering if one of you would."

She held her breath.

"We need a plan," Shikamaru said flatly. "I don't think wandering without any direction is a good idea any more. Now that we know Naruto can't read, we'll have to stay out of major cities like this one unless we absolutely __need__ something."

Naruto's head dropped.

"And to do that, you will need a smaller team," Hizashi said in a regretful tone. "Also, my son and Kiba-san will __gladly__ help you. After all, they need to make __some__ amends for robbing the poor merchant whose stall got destroyed."

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at Kiba and Neji, wide-eyed.

"Wow, guys," Naruto said, speaking first. "Was it a cabbage merchant?"

Neji nodded, flushing in embarrassment.

"It shall not happen again," Neji assured them. "I just thought that if Naruto was terrible at cards, she would try putting her necklace up for sale."

Naruto shook her head violently. "There is no way in __hell__ I am ever putting this up for sale," she vowed. "But robbing a merchant? Really?"

"It was a moment of temporary insanity," Neji said, his eyes refusing to meet hers. Then his brain seemed to catch up to him. "Are you leaving?" he asked his father.

"I am," Hizashi nodded. "I have been with you for quite a long time. I believe it is right to go home to see the others in the clan and hope that the fact that I am alive does not cause our clan to be shamed."

"I don't think you should care about your clan if they're ashamed that you returned alive," Naruto said bluntly. "I may not know much about clan affairs, but I do know that you being alive is a miracle of the greatest proportions."

Hizashi inclined his head to her.

"Oh, yes, I did get something from the weapons shop. Sealing supplies and some books on fuuinjutsu." He produced the bags. "The yakuza clean them out of weapons, so I think we should go and claim the weapons we can tomorrow."

Naruto nodded. "Will you leave after that?"

Hizashi nodded. "I shall. However, I believe that my son is far more talented than I, if his boasting is correct," Hizashi went on. "I have heard he can do the Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms. Is this true?"

Naruto nodded. "He used it on me during the Chuunin Exams."

Neji fidgeted under his father's glare.

"He was all angsty and stuff about your supposed death," Naruto 'helpfully' supplied.

"You were __four,"__ Hizashi said in a slow voice. "Please don't tell me he tried killing Hinata, too."

Naruto nodded. Neji glared at her.

"He tried to during the prelims."

"Naruto, please shut up," Neji said, closing his eyes. He turned to his father. "I was angry because everyone kept using the Cursed Seal on me, and Uncle only allowed me to stay in the house he lived in as a courtesy," Neji told him. "Father has a second daughter, too. She's better than Hinata."

Hizashi frowned.

"Hmm," he hummed. "Well, it's late, and we should all sleep. Naruto-san, I got you a separate room -"

Naruto's eye twitched. "I have the ability to change my gender," she said stiffly. "All Uzumakis have it." She turned into smoke, and when it cleared they saw a guy with slightly spiky red hair. He was also shirtless and kind of __hot.__

Neji was the first to clear his throat. Anyone looking in the room would have probably flinched away on instinct, but everyone else quickly went back to what they were doing.

Naruto ended up in the same room as Shikamaru. Neji was in Hizashi's room, while Kiba was sleeping on the floor next to his new sword.


	14. 14

They were the first ones out in the morning, paying their checkout. Then, they made their way to the shinobi weapons store. Nobody was out at this time - made sense, really, seeing as this town was for lazy people who didn't start rushing about until like twelve in the afternoon.

Naruto saw the sword, but didn't see the sign.

As soon as she picked the katana up and unsheathed it, touching the edge of the blade and cutting her finger on it purposefully to see how sharp it was, the sword seemed to turn blood red as the Kyuubi's chakra formed inside of it.

 ** **Oh, I like this,**** Kurama said with a laugh.

Naruto stared in the reflection of the blade, seeing the great beast instead of her own face.

"Cool," she whispered to herself.

"You have to buy it," the owner of the shop said.

Naruto turned. Neji and Kiba both glared at their group leader, but then froze at seeing the redness of the blade.

"Really? I believe this is my birthright," Naruto said, boldly. "This blade is of Uzumaki make. Would you keep the princess of Whirpool away from her heritage?"

The woman's eyes widened. "No, I wouldn't," she said gravely. "Take it. But pay for the other weapons."

"Okay," Naruto agreed cheerfully. "Give her the money."

Her group did as they were told. The money quickly exchanged hands just as a bunch of yakuza entered the store, looking like they wanted trouble.

"Oi, woman. Give us all your weapons," ordered the scarred leader of the group.

"These... Kind ninja... Took them," the woman said, paling rapidly.

"Oh?" the yakuza looked amused. "Kind ninja?"

He took notice of the sword.

"You, gaki, hand me the sword."

Naruto drew herself up, looking completely serious. "Not on my life," she vowed, handing over the weapon's sheath. "If you want it, you'll fight me with it with your own sword," she boldly proclaimed.

She was proud of her sword skills, having been taught by __Shunshin no Shisui__ herself when he was watching her. Her interest in them had led her to quietly asking around before learning Gekkou Hayate was a good swordsman after Shisui's death.

Naruto had not known Itachi very well; he had simply been watching them with that distant look.

Needless to say, she had loved being taught by Shisui to defend herself.

Shisui had been kind and patient.

Hayate-san and his girlfriend, Neko-san (Neko-san was her ANBU name - Naruto did not know her regular name) had taught her quite a bit after Shisui's death. Neko-san was friendly.

"Fine," the yakuza said, taking out his sword. It was well-polished - it had also been sharpened to a razor's edge. A weakness. Every swordsman (and woman) knew that only __idiots__ sharpened their sword that much. Sharpen it too much and, while it was sharp, you basically lost some of your sword every time you sharpened it. You would teh have to compensate for your lost edge. Most swordsmen who didn't know this lost their lives because of it.

Naruto used the Konoha symbol for 'fighting as equals'. The man scowled.

"I am not going to leave you alive, girly." His statement made Naruto twitch. Sure, she knew there were women in the yakuza, but most of them had to work their way to the top.

Naruto growled, and Kurama's chakra started coming off of the blade in wisps.

"You better hope I will," she said to them coldly.

"Sure you don't need one of your men to help you?" he asked with skepticism.

"I am perfectly capable of kicking your ass, you misogynistic teme," she growled. "Female or not, I learned for __Shunshin no Shisui."__

She launched herself in a series of blows. The yakuza man blocked each and every one of them.

She twirled and twisted her blade down, stopping him from hitting her and disarming him. Her blade slashed his arm as she did so, making him yell out as the blade slid through his arm and Kurama's chakra burned him.

"Do you like that?" Naruto asked him. "Do you accept that I am the true wielder of this blade?"

He glared at her.

"You might as well kill me," he growled. "My honor has been destroyed."

"Your wrong," Naruto corrected. "I've showed you that, despite being a talented swordsman yourself, I have been taught by three very talented shinobi. And not even you, I think, who was a shinobi once, can beat an ANBU's apprentice."

He glowered at her. Naruto turned and gave the shop owner a few more ryo. "Compensation."

She walked out, Kiba and the others behind her.

~:~

Hizashi bowed to Naruto. "I am grateful," he informed her solemnly.

Naruto waved her hand, dismissing it. "Nah, don't mention it. Just a girl doing her best."

"Your mother and I were good friends," he said after a moment. "Kushina was a brilliant woman. You look just like her."

He patted her hair, and he turned to his son and hugged him.

And whispered in his ear, _"_ _ _If you don't marry Naruto, consider yourself grounded for the rest of your life, Neji."__

Neji stared at his father in silent astonishment.

Then, Naruto shifted, and the moment was over.

"We'll see you soon, hopefully," Neji replied, still slightly kind of shocked.

Hizashi waved as the four went onto the road. Life would be cruel to them - but perhaps they would make it. Especially his son and Naruto.

With a slightly heavy heart, he turned towards his home, and he started on his way. He had a LOT of explaining to do to the new Hokage... And that was IF he arrived during the night.

He paused.

Yeah, he'd make __sure__ he arrived at night.

~:~

Tsunade massaged her head. The window opened, and she turned, expecting it to be Kakashi -

"Hiashi-san?" Why was the Hyuuga clan leader entering through the window, and furthermore, why did he have a bandage on his head?

"Er, no, I'm not my brother," the man said. "I am Hyuuga Hizashi, and __before__ you say I'm an impostor, Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto and my son, Hyuuga Neji, rescued me from Kumo." Hizashi frowned a little bit. "I do not recall any of the tortures they visited on me if they did such a thing. I was asleep during that time - I only awoke about a week ago, in Tetsu no Kuni. I had originally planned on staying with them - However, Nara Shikamaru realized they needed to move more stealthily than how I can," he said, sounding kind of regretful. "I arrived three hours ago, but I did not want to cause a ruckus, nor see my brother, while I walked here to see you."

Tsunade smiled a bit. Saki-san of the Cryptography had come to give her the Wave report. So far, Naruto was fine. "I'm glad you came directly to me, Hizashi-san. I hope you'll forgive me if I do not believe you a bit."

"She's supposed to look like the Fourth though," Hizashi interrupted. Tsunade paused. "She looks like Kushina more."

"She has blonde hair."

Hizashi reached into his robe, and brought out a picture.

Opening it, she saw - not that she knew this - a copy of the picture sent to the princess of Snow.

There Naruto was, standing with her three friends. With long red hair and aquamarine eyes.

She did look like Kushina. But there was something distinctly her son in there.

"I believe you," Tsunade said. "But your brother - that is a different story. He may not."

Hizashi winced. "I know. I thought I was dead. Completely. At least, until I saw Naruto."

He didn't want to say 'until Naruto spoke to his son', because he did not want to come off as creepy.

"Naruto continues to do the impossible," Tsunade smiled to herself. "I assume you want me to verify your real-ness to your brother?"

Hizashi bowed his head.

"If you wouldn't mind."


	15. 15

Naruto examined the sign in the middle of the sign intently.

"Wel... Come... To... Iwa," she managed to read. "A... Bandon... Your... Honor." She looked over to an impressed-looking Shikamaru.

Naruto fistpumped the area. "Screw you, fox!" she yelled, triumphant. "I learned the Rasengan in a week, and I __told__ you I could learn writing in one too! Take that, you stupid fox!"

They'd been walking, taking more breaks so Shikamaru could teach Naruto how to read letters and words. She'd picked it up, almost alarmingly fast. They also trained their senses while walking.

"Well, since I can read, that means I can read this!" She took out a scroll.

"Wait." Thieves. Naruto tensed, the scroll clutched firmly in her hand.

Naruto kept her scroll close to her chest, making certain not to bump into anyone, as they got to a seedy-looking inn and entered.

Eyes lit upon the young teens as they walked in. Since their hitai-ates were blank, mistrustful eyes turned onto them.

"One room," Naruto said, eyes alighting on the pay board. One room was 10 ryo.

"10 ryo," the owner grunted, not making any snide comments. Well, they __were__ thirteen (fourteen in Neji's case).

They grabbed the key, room number, and hauled themselves to their room, eyes still on them.

Well, actually, some were eyeing Naruto. As young as she was, her flawless skin could fetch a pretty price on the black market. Especially in Kumo.

Or Iwa.

And that pretty red hair would fetch a price in __any__ nation (but they wouldn't sell her to Konoha. __Hell no.__ ).

~:~

Naruto curled up on one of the beds, opening the scroll.

 _ _Naruto,.__ The unfamiliar handwriting jarred her. But then... It __was__ kind of familiar.

 _ _Naruto,__

 _ _I have a lot of uncertainties for tonight. It's nerve-wracking. I don't even know why I'm writing this to you. Biwako's escorting your mother out - I'm supposed to follow soon. I wish I had Jiraiya-sensei with me.__

 _ _Just in case, I suppose. Giving it to Kakashi is a good idea - he'll make sure you get it.__

 _ _I never want you to have to carry the burden of being the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. But, in the event I do not survive and you read this as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, please understand my reasoning.__

 _ _Yes, I am your father. I love you, even as unborn as you are. Kushina loves you with all her heart (she's the one carrying you, after all!). I am the Yondaime Hokage, and my name is Namikaze Minato (though it should be Senju Minato. Mother told me that I'd have to be part of the CRA if I took that last name, and she knows Kushina will kill both me AND whoever I tried to do it with... Haha... Kushina's gonna kill me for mentioning that law...). If I sealed the bijuu into you, it was to protect__ ** _ _ **both.**__** _ _Both you and the bijuu.__

 _ _I'm sorry.__

 _ _It was also to protect the village. Over one's family, over one's village... Such a sacrifice. This can never be explained. Nor can it be pardoned. I know how badly people can hurt others, sometimes worse than a demon.__

 _ _I'm so, so sorry.__

Naruto wiped her eyes. Neji looked over at her.

"Are you alright?"

Naruto smiled a bit. "Just my father. Speaking from beyond the grave, -ttebayo."

Naruto continued to decipher her father's precise handwriting, ignoring the raised eyebrows at her verbal tick. It was something she'd forced down before, to make herself better, but she accidentally let it slip every so often.

 _ _Kushina made a letter, explaining her side of the family. This scroll is keyed to our blood, but it won't open if it's unwilling blood that is given to it.__

 _ _I left you a technique I created (actually a few), plus what Kushina wanted to give you in case of a disaster. Understand that, in the wrong hands, these techniques can destroy a LOT.__

 _ _Be careful of Iwa if you go to the Land of Earth on any of your trips. They hate Kushina and I. I also enclosed a Bingo Book (as outdated as it might be) with the techniques.__

 _ _I know that not growing up with you will be hard on you.__

 _ _If this does get into your hands, know that I love you. A lot. And I wish I could've seen your first smile, heard your first laugh, heard your first word, see what color your eyes were. Gone to see you every day after the Academy. See you make genin.__

 _ _I should have given you your hitai-ate.__

 _ _Like I said, I don't know what will happen.__

 _ _This is just in case.__

 _ _I love you, my dear child.__

 _ _Your father,__

 _ _Namikaze Minato__

Naruto closed her eyes. Kurama said nothing as Naruto looked away from her friends, mourning the fact that she had parents she never knew. Mourning the fact that __Namikaze Minato__ was her father and that she never got to know him.

Nevertheless, she wiped her face and set her bag and scroll (which she placed in the bag) down next to the bed and got off of said bed so Neji could sleep on it.

Naruto slept near the bathroom door, Shika next to the window, and Kiba at the foot of the bed. It was a really tiny room.

No wonder it was only 10 ryo.

~:~

Deidara, a ninja formerly of Iwa groaned, cradling his head as he flew. It had been a regular occurrence since three years ago, and he'd felt himself sometimes slipping into a peaceful calm whenever Sasori was around.

Maybe it was the red hair?

Whatever it was, Deidara's head wouldn't stop getting those headaches. And it was __annoying!__

He didn't feel the urge to practice his art much, nor argue with Sasori over it. Now he'd just stare at the puppet with an unimpressed look whenever he brought up his 'art is eternal' argument. Or he'd kill someone cleanly with a kunai by complete accident.

 _ _What was wrong with him?__ Deidara's frustration mounted as he flew. Alone, he could enjoy this. But with his headache, he couldn't enjoy it at all. The sun was in his eyes, and making his headache even worse.

He set down a few minutes outside an Iwa missing-nin hotspot and entered the inn, his Akatsuki robes over his body. He ordered some water curtly.

"Oi, Deidara."

Deidara glanced over to a missing-nin, who leered at him.

"There's a buncha young teenagers here that are __ripe__ for the picking. Well, one in particular."

Deidara arched an eyebrow.

"You want me to help you kidnap a kid and help you sell them on the black market, un?"

It would probably help that Kakuzu was always complaining about them not bringing in money.

He grimaced to himself.

"How much do I get paid?" he demanded of the ninja.

"Half." Half. Reasonable, he supposed.

"Deal. What does the teen look like?"

He described her in detail. Deidara hid his surprise when he said it was a redhead, pale-skinned child with whisker marks on her face.

Che. More money for him, he supposed.

"Fine, un. I'll help."

The ninja smirked. "They're in room 14."

So they expected __him__ to do the work. "Che."

He stood up and stalked down the hallway, then, once room 14 was in sight, opened the door.

 _ _Teenagers.__ He expected fifteen or sixteen. Not __thirteen.__ Not __children.__

Okay, sure, he'd had __some__ missions to kill off a family that included kids, but they were killed quickly. Not blown up. Deidara always hated killing children with the bombs his hands made.

But this... This was selling them.

Swallowing, he took out a piece of cloth and put chloroform on it. This was always the safest bet - so his target wouldn't wake up (Sasori told him he should keep at least ONE type of poison on him, be it lethal or not, and that advice had always resonated with him, despite their arguments about what was art and what was not art). He pressed the cloth onto the redheaded girl's face, and her eyes opened.

Deidara couldn't explain the feeling that he had when he saw her eyes. They were greenish, with hints of a light blue that __resonated__ in him.

He nearly quit then and there, but he kept going, and the girl's eyes slid closed. Her confusion unsettled him.

He hauled her up and dropped the rag in the process. Hauling her out, Deidara disregarded the others, completely forgetting about them.


	16. 16

Neji woke up, the sun streaming in his eyes. He thought he'd heard something late in the night, but it had been nothing, as everyone was still there. Shikamaru was next to the window, Kiba at the foot of the bed and Naruto -

His mind screeched to a halt.

"Wake up!" he snapped, waking the others up. He heard them moaning and groaning, but ignored it as he sniffed the rag laying where Naruto had been. "Chloroform," he murmured. That was how Hinata had been kidnapped, and Hiashi had made them all smell the chloroform to make sure that they knew what it was in case of a similar attack.

"What, Neji? Why wake us up so early?" Kiba growled.

"Naruto's missing," he said instantly, not wasting words.

That woke everyone up quicker than a canister of ice water.

~:~

Naruto woke up with the feeling of flying.

 _"_ _ _Damn traitors,"__ a yellow-haired ninja hissed. "Sell the chit, then me, un. I got them back good." He kept muttering to himself as Naruto peeked over the edge of the bird and then hastily scrambled back, terror coursing through her.

 _ _Heights!__ She screamed inwardly.

 ** **At least we'd be free of that madman, no?****

"Oi, chit. You better not be thinking of jumping off."

She squeaked a little, then turned. Furious blue eyes a bit lighter than hers, along with yellow hair that could have matched her old hair color, met her eyes.

"Who are you, anyway, un?"

"I'm..." she thought fast. "...Umino Rin."

Her Acadmey sensei's last name, and a name she'd seen in the Konoha Graveyard.

Easy enough to remember.

She prayed that the person in front of her couldn't tell she was lying. She hoped that she had on her usual mask of fear when it came to scary as hell situations.

"Nice name," he said after a beat, turning back around. "Though I think your name would have been better as 'Naruto', un."

... _ _what the__ hell?!

She scowled at him. "Fishcake?!"

"You're right, it's a ridiculous name."

 ** **Liar,**** Kurama whispered in her mind, in a sing-song voice. ****He's lying~****

Naruto thought it would be best not to antagonize the possibly deadly warrior.

"So, um, what's your name?" she asked, trying not to make it obvious she was stalling, waiting for a town or something.

"Deidara."

She felt her jaw drop. And then... "Explosions are __art,"__ she said reverently.

She really __did__ like explosions. Plus, seals explode in your face if even one line is wrong, so... Oh, that reminded her, she actually needed to start learning about fuuinjutsu. More than what she already knew... How she knew it, she didn't know.

Deidara looked at her with a gleeful smile. "Art is a bang, un!" he nodded.

But then his smile dropped.

He turned away, and Naruto cocked her head.

"Where are we going?"

"To the Akatsuki base, chit. You aren't an 'Umino', you're an Uzumaki, un. Sasori-danna wants to question you as an Uzumaki."

 _ _Sasori. Dammit, Gaara. Why the hell haven't you written me back?!__

Naruto took a deep breath.

~:~

Sabaku no Gaara glared at his father as he __finally__ received the letter Naruto had sent.

Opening it, not caring about his uncharacteristic-ness, his teal eyes widened as he realized something.

"Father, are you not related to Akasuna no Sasori?"

His father and Chiyo-sama flinched.

"Yes," his father bit out. "We're __distantly__ related. Now if you have nothing of importance to say, __get out."__

Gaara lowered the letter.

"I __do__ have something to say," Gaara said, deciding to do the most childish thing possible. Something he'd seen Naruto do to her teammate.

He said, "You __suck."__ and stuck his tongue out.

His father and the council gaped as Gaara dramatically stormed off and shut the door nicely, before reopening it and slamming it again.

"...I don't think your son is influenced by the Shukaku anymore," Chiyo said blankly.

"No," Rasa murmured. "Perhaps the girl he met was quite an influence on him. That being said, make sure he knows that he's not allowed to send a letter back to the girl without my express permission," he said glancing at the suddenly terrified Black Ops nin.

The Black Ops nin vanished from Rasa's sight.

Rasa privately mourned his passing, but that was not to be. There was no screams of agony.

His ninja returned.

~:~

Naruto tried to wrap her head around this. Okay, so she was being taken to an obscure location on a flying bird.

"What is our exact destination?" she asked, running her mind through scenarios. Most of which the probability was high that she'd die.

No. Not __high.__ There was a 0.0001 percent that she'd live - and that was only IF she were to jump. Kurama's chakra could - in theory - save her from dying.

 ** **Let me have control, and you will survive,**** Kurama coaxed.

"Tenshi Bridge."

That was near Konoha... Ish. She should drop by... Oh, wait, she'd die first.

"Jumping off would land you in the middle of Konoha - don't even try it."

She smirked at him. "Sorry. I'll take my chances."

Even in a village that had abandoned her.

She used it as a springboard, the blue-eyed man panicking and reaching for her.

She broke the cloud cover.

And there it was... Oh, __shit.__ She was headed right for ANBU HQ, and more than likely wouldn't appreciate anyone smashing through their super-secret headquarters.

Kurama's chakra covered her body, prepping it for the damage she was going to endure.

She broke through the __concrete ceiling__ of the ANBU HQ, which, oddly enough, had the jounin lounge on its first floor.

And possibly why she wasn't breaking through any other floors, either, because Neji's dad stood there, holding her by the back of her jacket. The floor cracked under her.

"Hi, Hizashi!" she smiled, despite the fact that her clothes were singed and everyone could see her chest - her __flat__ chest - and despite the fact that she wasn't supposed to even be there.

"Naruto-san." He looked amused at her entrance. "How are you?"

Naruto ignored the whispers.

"Ah, you know, getting kidnapped by cool bomber dudes and jumping off large clay birds. You know, the usual," she grinned. "You?"

"Just settling back into being a jounin. Was my brother always such a pain in the ass when I was gone?" he inquired.

Naruto shrugged as he finally set the young girl on the ground.

"Eh, I don't really know... All I know is that he pushed Hinata-chan really hard and made her feel useless," Naruto admitted. "And made Neji seem oh-so-important... But really, Neji kinda sucked as a person in general. Obsessed with fate and all." She stood up and stared at her clothes, somewhat dismayed. "Shit! Haku's going to kill me!"

It was only then she spotted the new tattoos she'd gotten in Uzushio.

"Oh, wow, I look badass."

"You look like your mother."

Tsunade's dry voice made her whirl, tensing in anticipation of a fight.

"You're no longer banished. Legally, you shouldn't have been banished. You don't have to return, by any means," she added as Naruto tensed a bit.

"That's good," Naruto nodded. "I'm not ready to come back... And I'm not sure I'll stay forever if I did decide to come back."

Tsunade nodded.

"Well, since you __are__ a foreign-ish ninja unaffiliated with Konoha, you shouldn't be in here!"

Naruto yelped as her ear was grasped. "Ow-ow-ow-ow!" She was dragged out of the jounin lounge, crying in pain.


	17. 17

**Don't kill me, alright? I know it's been a few days since my last update, so here. :D Enjoy~**

 **Obviously, I don't own Naruto or any recognizable things. I do own Saki, however.**

 **~:~**

"Did you hear?" Ino asked Sakura in a low voice.

"No, what?" the pinkette asked.

"Naruto's back."

Sakura tensed. "What?"

"Yeah. No sight of Shikamaru, Kiba, or that other Hyuuga," Ino shrugged, as if unconcerned.

And that's when they caught sight of the redhead with whisker marks, grinning in that stupid way that Sakura knew was instinctively __Naruto.__

She stood next to Tsunade, chatting with her as they walked through the market.

To Ichiraku's.

Sakura ran to get in front of them, rage in her. She noticed Tsume-san of the Inuzuka clan glaring at Naruto.

"Why did you break your promise?!"

Naruto stopped, her aquamarine eyes glaring at her.

"I was banished, Haruno-san."

Sakura felt rage -

"Where's my son?" Tsume-san's presence made Sakura shrink out of the way.

"With Neji and Shikamaru," Naruto replied, smiling at Tsume-san, but it was more of a polite smile. "No offense, Inuzuka-sama, but there is very little that Neji cannot handle in way of bandits. I'm positive that very little ninja would want anything to do with a Sealed Hyuuga, seeing as they are __Sealed Hyuuga,__ and therefore pretty much useless in the eyes of the other nations. The Inuzuka clan's style of fighting is beyond Kiba now, thanks to your refusal to give him another ninken, and Shikamaru's style calls for a perpetual lazy ass with perfect chakra control. Out of all of these... Only Shikamaru's would be feasible, but he's usually such a lazy ass he lets __us__ deal with the bandits and stuff."

Naruto gave them another polite smile, then turned to Sakura.

"Haruno-san, I was unable to complete my task because Sasuke is a spoiled ass who thinks he needs to kill his brother. Do you really want to live in a clan filled with fratricidal people?"

Sakura slapped her.

Naruto took it.

"You've no right to talk, __trash,"__ Sakura hissed.

Naruto smiled at her chillingly.

"You know, if I wanted to, I could kill you for that insult."

Tsunade smirked at Sakura's sudden paleness.

"But I won't. After all, I have a reputation to maintain."

Tsunade opened a Bingo Book. "Oi, gaki. Look."

Naruto blinked at the entry.

"Why am I on there?"

"You attacked the Raikage, dumbass! Of course he's going to go after you!" Tsunade noticed everyone staring at them. "We should send a falcon to your companions."

Naruto nodded. "Alright." She removed her eyes from her Bingo book entry. "Is Saki around?"

"Of course."

~:~

Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba were getting ready for another long night when a falcon's cry pierced the air. The falcon circled to them and landed, showing that it was from Konoha.

Shikamaru opened it cautiously, possibly expecting some sort of trap.

Instead, his eyes widened and he got up.

"Naruto is in Konoha, which is only about a day away from here. We should head out early tomorrow," he said to the other two.

"Indeed," Neji said, throwing another stick into the flames. "I would like to see my family again."

"And mine... Though I hope my mom won't be too angry that I left," Kiba shuddered. "I mean, I'm sure she knew I was leaving."

"My parents packed for me," Shikamaru shrugged. "I knew I'd be back. I rather like this, though. Learning on the road suits me."

Neji was quiet. "It shall be interesting indeed to see my father and how he interacts with the rest of my clan," Neji admitted after a minute.

Each of them were silent as they each contemplated how they were going to talk to their families after such a long absence away.

~:~

"Naruto!"

Naruto paused in the market as one of her best friends in the whole world appeared, her hair in a messy bun and her coal black eyes making Naruto's heart ache as she thought of Sasuke.

"Saki. How are you?"

The only Uchiha loyal to Konoha blinked owlishly at her from behind her glasses.

"Better, now that you're back." Saki frowned at her. "You suck, you know that? You don't even tell me you're leaving! I had to find out from the __Hokage__ that you were banished! I had to leave my department!"

Naruto sweatdropped. All of the 'Nerd Squad' as Saki called her department were a bunch of overworked Intel guys. Of course, they had Kage Bunshin training; as severely understaffed as they were, they couldn't afford __not__ to have Kage Bunshins running both in their department and outside the premises of said department. That being said, the Nerd Squad were usually identified by their pale skin, glasses, lab coats, and 'according to my research' statements.

Saki, however... Saki managed to live through the Uchiha massacre. How? Naruto had had her over in secret. Saki was an orphan who'd pretty much been tossed out of the Uchiha anyway, and the only reason she wore the uchiwa fan on her back was because she had the Sharingan and she could do the basic katon jutsu.

Awesome, right?

Not for Saki. Upon hearing of Itachi being the one who massacred them... Her eyes had changed. Into something called the Mangekyou.

Not that Naruto wanted to learn much more about the Mangekyou eyes. Saki had no immediate relatives, and the fact was the Sandaime had never mentioned on if there were any spare Uchiha Sharingan around to save Saki's eyesight. Saki had retreated into the Intel department, and Naruto rarely saw her.

Mentioning Saki in passing to Sasuke had pissed Sasuke off, too...

Naruto smiled at her. "I'm sorry, Saki-chan." Saki sighed.

"I guess I can't blame you." She fixed her shades. "I'd want to leave without saying anything - I wouldn't want to hurt my friends any more."

Naruto sighed and looked down.

"Saki... You know I tried, right? To bring him back?"

Saki nodded. "You never give up, right?" Naruto tilted her head. "I __guess__ Boss can deal without me for a few weeks. You, me, and your pals on the Sasuke Retrieval Squad will go to Otogakure, we'll kick Sasuke's ass, then we'll drag it back here, in good condition or not."

"We'd need an __army,"__ Naruto said, the beginnings of an idea appearing in her head. "Saki, I love you!" she burst out.

Saki smiled, threw her arms around Naruto, and in a display of Saki's bisexuality, Saki kissed her. Full on the lips. In front of __everyone.__

Naruto's arms flailed a little bit, but she settled down as Saki kissed her more deeply.

Though Saki __did__ removed herself before tongue was involved.

"Naruto, I love you, too! Does this mean you'll marry me, and our eternal love with continue?"

Naruto facefaulted.

~:~

"Naruto!" Not long after Saki's kiss (and Naruto's flat __no__ to Saki's question of spending their life together and having their 'eternal love' exist), Chouji puffed up to her.

Instead of greeting him normally, Naruto pulled Chouji in a hug.

"I'm sorry for putting you in the hospital!" she told him. "I didn't mean to!"

Chouji patted her back awkwardly. "Not your fault. But I have news. Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba are here!"

Naruto let him go and grinned at him. "Thank you!" She rushed off, Saki huffing and puffing behind her.

They stood there, arguing with Kotestu and Izumo.

"I'm telling you! Just let us in without signing!"

"Yo, Izumo! Kotetsu!"

Izumo and Kotetsu turned.

"Can you please let them in?" she asked, using her puppy eyes. "I mean, they aren't Konoha shinobi, so please?"

Both melted almost immediately.

She grabbed Neji's hand almost unintentionally and tugged him in. "C'mon, guys! Let's go see Tsunade-baa-chan!"

"That's a good idea," Neji replied quietly. "How did you -"

Kiba shoved through them and tugged Naruto into a hug. Naruto gasped as she was squeezed.

"How did you escape? Who were you taken by?!"

"Can't - breathe -"

"Oh, sorry," Kiba said, dropping her. "Just - tell us. Please!"

Naruto sucked in lungfuls of air. "Kiba, Shika, Neji - meet my best friend, Saki."

Saki waved, then turned her attention back to Naruto.

"As for what happened, I was kidnapped by Bakahatsu no Deidara," she admitted. "And I jumped off of his flying exploding bird and landed in the jounin lounge."

"Ouch," came the simultaneous voices of her friends.

"I know," Naruto flashed them a smile. "And I know I said I didn't want to, but I think... I think I know how to get Sasuke back." She waited for the inevitable explosion, but it never came.

"Okay, how?" Shikamaru asked. "It's not like we have another Sharingan user."

"Actually," Saki said, closing her eyes and then opening them, making them stare, "I __do,__ bitches. Uchiha __fucking__ Saki at your service~"

"This plan needs an army," Naruto divulged. "Which means I need to get to Uzushio, then I need to get to Suna. Gaara told me how the Kazekage survived, and we __need__ information on how to use that jutsu, though it might only be doable for Uzumakis, it would still be necessary." Naruto took a deep breath and explained her thoughts.

Using an army of Uzumakis was pretty damn impossible. But an army of __henge'__ d Narutos? Well, maybe it wasn't quite practical, but hey - to get Sasuke back, Naruto had to try everything.

"It has its merits," Shikamaru nodded. "But why do you need to go to Uzushio?"

Naruto paused. "It's a feeling I have," she said, her eyes turning in the direction of her mother's home. "I have to go... It's little an incessant fire ant biting me over and over and over again." She clenched her jaw. "And I'd like to take Saki to see it. She expressed an interest in it, anyway."

Saki beamed. "I would love to see it! Brilliant architecture -"

"Most of which is crumbled stone."

"Seals that change the DNA of the people -"

"Only for me, because I did something very dumb that could've killed me and the Kyuubi."

"And, of course - the FUCK? The KYUUBI? HOLY SHIT, YOU COULD'VE KILLED THE KYUUBI?!" Saki's eyes were wide and had gone onyx.

"Well, Saki-chan, I would've died too!" Naruto said with a false cheer. "Besides, I really need to go Uzushio anyway, to see if they have anything regarding the changes I went through." She paused. "And maybe we can slip to Wave real quick, to check up on Zabuza and Haku?"

"Mendokuse," Shikamaru sighed.

"You don't have to come," Naruto smiled.

"No, I think it would be better if we did," he said. "I don't really mind. I think we should rest up for a few more days."

Naruto smiled. "Alright~ I have to finish food shopping for the next couple of days, so I'll see you..." She trailed off.

"A week," Shikamaru sighed. "A week from today and we meet at the gate."

Neji nodded. "I shall see you all later. I must go see my family."

Naruto nodded and shoved him away. "Go, then!"

The other three dispersed, and Saki glanced at Naruto.

"You're a freaking __moron,__ Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "Huh? I don't know what you mean."

Saki rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go work at my place."

"Saki-chan! I'm not allowed in the Intel department!"

"Oh, fuck that, it's more of a 'you're not __technically__ allowed' type of thing. Everyone knows Tsunade's your grandma and Jiraiya's your grandpa and that they'll kill you themselves if you give out secret information."

"EHHH?! THEY'RE MY WHAT?!"

"Like I said, Naruto, you're a freaking __moron."__


	18. 18

**Sorry for the shortness, but the next chapter is where things really start picking up, and I hope you like it!**

 **~:~**

Shikamaru opened the gate to his clan. He walked up to his house, then walked in after pausing for a moment.

"Tadaima!" he called.

"Okaeri!" his mother called back. "How are you, Shikamaru?"

"Tired," Shikamaru answered truthfully. "I'm heading to bed for a while. I bet Kiba and Neji are doing the same."

He slipped off to his room and collapsed there.

Ah, a proper bed.

~:~

Kiba stepped into the clan compound, in full view of his mom. And, well, everyone in his family.

"Hi." He offered that one word up.

His mom looked highly displeased.

"And why did you leave without talking to me first?"

"Because I thought you'd stop me," Kiba answered steadily. "Naruto isn't a monster, Kaa-san. She's a girl who has all of the shitty luck in the world to be born on that night."

Tsume rolled her eyes. "Yep, I got that much, kid. Thanks for making us think differently. You're grounded, though."

Kiba grinned at her. "I'm leaving again in a week."

Tsume huffed. "Whatever."

Kiba walked past her to his bedroom, intending to get a good night's sleep. His mother hadn't even commented on his swords. Ah, well.

~:~

Neji entered the clan compound quietly, ignoring the looks and glares. He knocked on the door to his uncle's home and announced his presence.

"Uncle, I have returned home."

"Enter," the cool voice of his uncle said.

Neji entered, and he saw his father sitting there, Cursed Seal out in the open.

"Father!" Neji was glad his father had made it here. "I am glad to see you within clan walls again."

His father smiled at him. "How much progress have you made on wooing Naruto?"

Neji facepalmed. "Father, __she is only thirteen years old."__

"Fourteen," Hiashi interjected. "Her birthday passed."

Neji frowned. "When was it? What day is it?"

"A month ago," Hiashi replied. "October 10th."

Neji quickly thought. "I think we were in Tetsu no Kuni." He frowned.

"You're probably exhausted," Hizashi said. "Go rest, my son. I shall talk to you later."

Neji nodded, heading to his room in the home. He sprawled in his bed, feeling as though the bed was too comfortable.

~:~

Naruto, in this time, was finishing her shopping, and headed back to her silent home, when she stopped at her door, tensing.

"I can feel your chakra," she said out loud.

"Super Beast Art: Snake ropes!"

Naruto dropped her groceries.

"Ninjutsu: Chakra gag!"

As she opened her mouth to yell, she was silence by something that was choking her.

Something pricked her arm, and the snakes burst into ink, spattering her clothes and her body.

"He won't be pleased that she got damaged."

"Chakra gags are okay, he said."

"It's kind of sad she got knocked out in her own village."

Naruto gritted her teeth and moved. In a single burst of energy, she flipped backwards and jammed her foot into someone's neck. A gasp, and she was spinning, again on her hands, and lashing out again with her foot.

"Impressive."

She landed on her feet and swayed. What...? She recalled the prick in her arm and gritted her teeth. Just a moment -

"Ninjutsu: Chakra block!"

Something slammed into her back, making her tumble off the walkway, over the railing, and she couldn't use her chakra. Blood flew from her mouth, and the ground rushed up to greet her.

Intense pain seemed to render the chakra gag useless, because Naruto could have sworn she heard a shout. But then she was out, more blood flowing from her head and onto the street.

~:~

Tsunade was suddenly distracted from her speech to some of her ANBU about the impracticality of food pills substituting regular food on mission, a bad feeling chilling her spine and making her stand up and look out the window in the direction of her grandchild's home.

"Tsunade, I bet she's alright," Jiraiya said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Tsunade shook her head. "The odds of me winning that bet are zero to nil, but I'll take it." She hoped that she was all right.

She turned to her ANBU.

"Look, I know I was lecturing you, and I'll finish my argument later, but I need you all to go make sure Uzumaki Naruto is all right!"

The shinobi did not ask for any details; rather, they immediately left the room.


	19. 19

Naruto woke with a splitting headache, a light in her eyes, and the __ugliest__ face she'd ever seen.

Bandages went down half his face, and one dark eye shone out with displeasure.

 ** **Oh, fantastic!**** Her bijuu chirped. ****The power-hungry warhawk. Mito never trusted him, and your mom never really interacted with him - he'd retired by the time the Yondaime came into office, probaby only going into office again because the Sandaime blackmailed him.****

"Are you Uzumaki Naruto?"

"The chicken clucks on a Sunday night," Naruto replied, then frowned at herself. "The flower petals rhymed yes! Falling sakuras are mediated by bloody wolves!" Naruto growled to herself and shut her eyes.

 _ _Any reason why I'm saying nonsensical things?__

 ** **Ah, sorry about that.**** Kurama's chakra pooled in her throat. ****There, all good.****

"Sorry about that, Danzou-sama. Yes, I am Uzumaki Naruto." She swallowed. "Why am I here?" More importantly, Naruto was no longer associated with Konoha in a shinobi way - why would he want her? For __anything?__

"In time, I shall answer." He seemed satisfied, and the annoying light plunged into nonexistence. Danzou walked away, Naruto silent and more than simply confused.

 ** **Just give me a minute. I think I can undo this chakra block, but it will take a little time.****

 _ _Take all the time you need. I have to think on what the seal did to me.__ She could recall a physical __burning__ sensation in her body. __Just tell me when you're done.__

 ** **No problem with that.****

~:~

"Nothing, Hokage-sama. Her companions are asleep." A knock on the door brought Tsunade's attention. The ANBU melted into nonexistence, and Tsunade opened the door to see Saki, the Uchiha-that-was-technically-not-an-Uchiha-in-name-only.

Saki looked unusually grave.

"I think Naruto's in trouble, because she dropped her groceries outside her door, and there's a chakra trail - hers and nobody's in the village - leading away from the village to the north." Saki looked pale. "I can track it, but I really need help. I don't have the stamina, even if I were to run."

"Tori, Oni, Gama! Take Saki and follow her direction!"

Saki leapt onto the shoulder of Gama, and with barely a whisper, they were gone.

~:~

Naruto panted with the effort of keeping Kurama contained. __Fuck, he has a Sharingan!__

 ** **Naruto... That is the only way to circumvent the seal. On the plus side: He's dead. As in, reeeaaally dead. You will have to use your chains - that is one of the things the seal granted you.**** Kurama's essense was leaving her. ****Him releasing me will make the Shinigami appear, and his life is forfeit. Such is the reason your idiot father used the Shiki Fujin. Since this old dude has more chakra than your father, your father -****

Kurama's explanation was cut off as he left her body.

"Shit," Naruto swore as Kurama made the building explode. "If he gets to Konoha -"

The chains... Chains...

Well, there was one thing she could do.

 _ _Kaa-san.__ Inside her, her mother's chakra existed. Not in great quantity, as her mother had told her a story before, the story of her life - hers and her father's (though she hadn't realized Minato was her dad, then, as she never really mentioned that he'd become the YONDAIME HOKAGE) - and occasionally helped her with staying strong. Her fight with Sasuke. __I have the chains. Do you know how I can activate them?__

 _ _Yes. You have to be stronger than you've ever been... And release your chakra, visualizing the chains you want.__

Her mother retreated, and Naruto closed her eyes and __felt__ for her strength. Her ties with the rest of her friends (Chouji, Shika, Neji, Lee, Kiba, Saki, Kurama, Koyuki, Iruka-sensei, Kaka-sensei, and the Ichirakus - and the comraderie she'd once had with Sasuke before his defection), and building up her chakra at the relationship she was beginning to have with Tsunade-baa-san, and Ero-sennin... Orange (typical of her - she DID like her orange) chains began to appear as she visualized the desired chains.

And then Naruto released the chakra.

Chains exploded from her back, wrapping up Kurama and shoving him to the ground. His new-formed bijuudama cracked and fell apart.

Naruto could hear an eerie silence, and she also heard footsteps. Coldness began to steal up her limbs.

A dirty foot kicked her and yanked Kurama.

"Sorry!" she yelled to her friend. "It kinda has to be this way, -ttebayo!"

Danzou kicked her again.

Kurama roared as Naruto's chains dragged him a little bit again.

She allowed them to extend, but only enough so that he wouldn't move when she was inevitably kicked again, and this time it was a chakra-enhanced kick.

She fell onto her back, chains digging into her back uncomfortably.

And then she looked up to sneer at him - and promptly lost what remaining blood she had in her face.

 _ _Do you think you were this scared when you saw the Shinigami?__ She wondered to her mother, who never responded.

The Shinigami silently unsheathed his knife, and licked it.

Danzou growled at her. "You release the bijuu, girl."

"You're dead," she said. "Why should I give care to a dead man?"

Danzou frowned.

"Behind you, __moron,"__ she taunted.

He whipped around, eyes wide, just as the Shinigami sliced down, cleaving the man in half. His chakra remained - in a distinctly human shape, so human she could make out his hair on his head-, and Naruto watched with wide, frightened eyes as the Shinigami sucked the soul down.

The Shinigami's eyes turned to her, and she saw him bringing the knife up and she recoiled, closing her eyes and praying she didn't wake up in the afterlife.

Instead, she felt a coldness to her seal. Nothing seemed to happen, so she peeked out one of her eyes and the Shinigami was right in her __face.__

Naruto screamed in fear and shoved herself backwards a bit, heart racing.

The Shinigami __smirked.__

Naruto's heart raced faster.

He was gone in the next second, and Naruto felt the chains retracting, Kurama returning to a chakra-like substance before returning to her body.

Naruto sagged.

Deciding she had had it for the day, she passed out.

~:~

Five minutes before Naruto passed out, Saki was pointing out the chakra residue when it abruptly started shooting towards something. Saki frowned, her Sharingan following it.

"It's collecting in front of us, a big round - hey, what are you doing?" The ANBU Gama had stopped and started jumping backwards. "You idiot, Tsunade-sama -"

The big black ball, apparently visible to anyone, suddenly cracked and suddenly Saki felt it - the bloodthirsty hatred and anger. She screamed, slamming her eyes shut. Some part of her wanted to curl into a ball - or better yet, kill herself. She opened her eyes again, determined not to let it get to her.

She reminded herself of Naruto, and her mom - her loving mother who Saki was kicked out for hurting (kamis, Saki was a terrible daughter - her awakening of her Sharingan had hurt her kaa-san) - and how both of them (even if one was in the afterlife already) would shout at her for killing herself without putting up a fight.

Saki took a deep breath and got off of Gama, intentionally going towards the hate. Maybe it was the fact that Naruto was hurting that had shielded her at first, or maybe because she was an Uchiha - but either way, Saki kept going, leaping from tree to tree.

She made it there, the remains of an underground base showing.

Saki peeked into the crater. There, one ugly-ass spiritual being was leaning over Naruto, and Naruto looked __terrified.__

Saki didn't blame her - Saki was also afraid of ghosts.

The being vanished, and a blast of air rushed upward.

Naruto was mere feet away from the separated body of an ugly old person, and the orange chains extending from her back retracted, orange and what was presumably the Kyuubi's chakra going back into Naruto's body.

Naruto, who promptly fainted once it was in there.


	20. 20

**Alright, answering reviews!**

 ** _Guest_ asked: WHAT was Danzo trying to do by unleashing Kurama!? Does Kurama have both his Yin AND Yang Halfs!?**

 ** _Answer:_ That will be revealed much later in the story - hope you have the patience to wait, sorry! And no, Kurama does not have both Yin and Yang halves. **

**_Hikari Nova_ asked: did the Shinigami prank Naruto?**

 ** _Answer:_ Yes, yes he did. :D Also, I had to use Frost because I completely forgot about Snow/Spring, lol~. I think it kinda works out. I've written out the whole Koyuki/Land of Snow/Spring fight in one of my other stories, but the Land of Snow doesn't quite make sense for this story, I don't think, which is why I put Koyuki as head of Frost, which can turn INTO the Land of Spring.**

 **One last thing before I stop typing for now - please vote on my poll I will be putting up on my profile. I will explain why after I get twenty votes!**

 **angelsalugh**

 **~:~**

Naruto slowly woke up.

"-there was this ugly old dude cut into two halves, there was a ghost, and I'm not quite sure how Naruto managed that," Saki's voice was saying.

"Wasn't me," Naruto hoarsely said, opening her eyes fully.

"Naruto, you seem to manage to scare the crap out of everyone on a daily basis," Kakashi said, reading his porn. Iruka-sensei was by her bedside, looking all the world like a worried mama bird.

"Ignore Kakashi, he's just horny. What's wrong? Are you hurt in any way? Need anything?"

"Water." Iruka, for a moment, looked flummoxed. "I need water."

"Oh. Right."

He handed her water. She drank it like she'd been dehydrated. She coughed after, expelling some of it back. She dropped the glass, and tried to catch it but fumbled.

Saki caught it.

"Your motor functions will suck for a few more days," Saki told her flatly. "You hit your head nastily, your chakra was blocked, and your bijuu was extracted. I don't even know how your still __alive,__ much less __coherent__ right now."

"It hurt." Naruto glanced at Saki. "And even though it hurt... Not all of the Kyuubi could be extracted."

"Why not?" Saki asked, looking puzzled.

Naruto looked at her, solemn, well aware of the ears in the room.

"You want to know how Danzou got halved?"

Saki grimaced, but nodded.

"The ghost wasn't a ghost, Saki." Naruto steeled herself. "You saw a far away version of what I saw up close."

Saki frowned. "Naruto, __what did you see?"__

Naruto clutched her bedspread.

"The Shinigami."

"We know you danced with death! Naruto, what did you -"

"I SAW THE ACTUAL SHINIGAMI!" Naruto screamed. "AND SO DID YOU!"

Saki gazed at her.

Naruto shivered unintentionally. "I saw the Shinigami... I was so scared... Kyuubi told me that, since he took the demon out of my seal, that Danzou's life was forfeit. The Shinigami did __something__ with my seal, and I... I was so damn scared, I thought the Shinigami was after __me!"__ Naruto couldn't help the moisture coming to her eyes. "He smirked, and he came __right up to me,__ and I thought he was going to slice me in half the way he did to Danzou!"

Naruto closed her eyes and started to sob.

Saki sniffled.

"Why didn't he kill you?"

Neji's question made Naruto shrug.

"I don't know," the girl hiccuped. "But I know what I saw! It couldn't have been anything but the Shinigami." She stopped sobbing, simply letting out some of her tears, covering her mouth.

Her mother and father must have been terrified - but they got over the terror because they were dead. Or they never looked at it. Still. Naruto choked a little bit as the door opened to admit Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba - speaking of which, why was Neji earlier than them?

"Sorry," Shikamaru apologized breathlessly. "Our parents wouldn't let us check up on you until an ANBU said you were awake."

"My father said it would be mildly creepy to walk in your door while you were sleeping," Neji offered as Naruto turned her watery eyes to him. "But I came in through the window."

Everyone in the room sweatdropped.

~:~

"Saki told me what you saw." Naruto stood before the Hokage on crutches.

"Yep. Gonna call me crazy like Saki did?"

"From what I heard, she was simply under the impression it was a __ghost.__ And no, I have heard plenty of stories of the Shinigami. Did he... Do anything to you?" Tsunade looked uncertain.

"No," Naruto said, shaking her head. "He just... I thought I was going to die." Naruto closed her eyes. "And he kinda freaked me out - he just used his freaking knife to __slice__ someone in __half.__ " Naruto sighed. "Guess Danzou was __half__ the man we all thought him to be." Okay, morbid, but...

Tsunade burst into laughter. "Girl, that was terrible!"

Naruto smiled. "That was __half__ the joke I meant it to be."

The ANBU in the far right corner was fighting back his laughter.

Naruto sighed. "Baa-san, why didn't you ever tell me we were related?"

Tsunade stopped laughing, as did the ANBU guy in the corner.

She sighed. "I didn't think it would matter, to be honest."

Naruto flinched. "Baa-san, I... I can't come back to this village as a shinobi. I can visit, but I - I don't think I can stay. It's not you, or Ero-sennin, it's just..." She threw her hands and waved them a little, trying to explain via jazz hands instead of being able to say it. "You know, right?"

Surprisingly, Tsunade nodded. "I get it, Naruto. You can't stay here because it's difficult for you. I understand. I'm not asking you to stay. In fact, I want you to live your life. This village has done you enough harm. Just... Visit when you're on your way to Uzushio. Twice a year at least, okay?"

Naruto frowned. "How did you - oh, right. You're Mito's granddaughter. Of course you'd know."

She offered her grandmother a smile.

"Hey." Jiraiya appeared out of the shadows. "You probably won't see me on the visits, but we'll run into each other. Definitely."

He grinned at her, and Naruto smiled back.

"You guys are awesome," Naruto said after a moment.

Tsunade snorted. "We better be."


	21. 21

**Q &A time~**

 _ **Guest**_ **asked:**

Why did Danzo extract Kurama from Naruko!? What was his endgame in doing so!?

 _ **Answer:**_

It will seriously be answered in five chapters. Tops. I won't keep you hanging too much, promise~

 **Alright, that was the only question. :( Please vote on the polls, and I put in girls because - well, you'll have to read the chapter to find out, right? :D I need 16 more votes before I post the reason why I'm asking you to vote on the poll on my profile. So please, go do that, because it seriously does pertain to the story.**

 **And with that, enjoy the story!**

 **(Itachi: angelslaugh-san does not own Naruto. However, she does own Uchiha Saki, as she made Saki up. Randomly. Tell me, why are you planning on putting her as -**

 **angelslaugh: Shh! *puts hand over Itachi-sama's mouth* Don't spoil it - how'd you get here anyway?**

 **Itachi: ...Hn. Review, and ask questions. Or I will Tsukuyomi all of you.**

 **angelslaugh: DON'T THREATEN MY READERS! But please, review.)**

 **~:~**

"My father wants you to come to dinner with Hinata, Hanabi, and my uncle," Neji said to her two nights before they planned to leave.

"When?" Naruto asked, calmly.

"Tonight," Neji replied.

"Let me get changed," she told him. "And then I'll be there."

She changed into the clothes Haku had given her, now repaired. She was grateful to Haku - they were loose, flowing, and they looked just like what Haku wore!

(Naruto looked up to Haku - both of their clans were pretty much gone, or scattered, at least. Saki was another matter, as she had been Naruto's friend since... Well, forever, really.)

Naruto was ready within minutes, and she followed Neji to the Hyuuga compound. Of course, they had to pick some cinnamon buns up for Hinata, so they caught a lot of eyes. Naruto had pretty much avoided the market after Danzou had her taken, so when she was shown in the public eye she heard whispers.

 _'_ _ _I thought she was dead...'__

 _'_ _ _I never thought I'd see the day a Hyuuga willingly walked with that demon...'__

Naruto hurt on Kurama's behalf - it wasn't his fault. And nor was it Naruto's - both Naruto and Kurama were victims of circumstance.

"Are you all right?" Neji's voice was soft.

Naruto turned to him and gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I think so." The words of the village she alternately loved and hated hurt, true - but to be honest, the only opinions she was beginning to care about was her group's opinions and her friends'.

"On our last day we're invited over to the BBQ place with the other rookies," Naruto informed Neji, reminded of her invitation given to her by Iruka. "All of us... I think I'm going to try explaining Sasuke to Sakura then."

Neji nodded. "That fits into plans well - Father said he, Shikaku-sama, and Tsume-sama of the clans are getting together tomorrow, and they want us in the group to be there to make sure we fit together."

Naruto beamed. "Then let's hurry!"

Together, the two raced to the Hyuuga Compound, Naruto grinning so hard her face hurt. She was beyond excited for what the night would bring.

~:~

"-then Naruto said that she couldn't read, and everyone stared at her like she was an alien," Neji wrapped up.

Naruto's face was completely red. "It's not my fault," she pouted.

"No, but I didn't tell them about your mistakes with basic Academy katas," Neji replied with a smirk.

Naruto flushed brighter red.

"I wish I could kick Mizuki-teme's ass," Naruto grumbled, shoving food in her mouth.

"Language," Hinata hissed, shooting a glance at Hanabi.

"You say worse things," Hanabi said blandly.

Hinata pinked and ducked her head.

Naruto paused, swallowing.

"Hiashi-sama. I really do wonder something, and can you not be offended?" she asked him, pinking a little bit. Hiashi inclined his head.

"What is it?"

"...Well, how has your clan retained the stick up its ass when you kind of have to be massive perverts to use the Byakugan?"

Hizashi burst into loud laughter at Hiashi choking.

"I don't think anyone's put it quite like that before," he chuckled, hitting Hiashi on the back.

Neji's face was bright red.

"Well, I mean, it wouldn't matter to me all that much," Naruto admitted. "If it makes them more comfortable I can change into a guy." Everyone looked at her - including Hizashi and Neji.

"I thought you simply changed your physical appearance," Neji said, puzzled.

Naruto rolled her eyes and performed her __henge.__ Without a second to waste, the entire household activated their Byakugan.

"I'm essentially a guy, guys," Naruto said in __his__ rough voice, which really wasn't much different from her normal voice. "Jeez. I have fully operative sets of reproductive organs." He looked at his hair, which had also turned red. "Though I forgot I had red hair. I like this look - flat, semi-spiky - kinda like Kaa-san's... Even though my original form actually __has__ Mom's hair," Naruto mused to himself before shrugging.

"She - __he's__ right," Hizashi said. "Won't you have fun, Neji?"

Neji deactivated his Byakugan, going crimson.

Naruto frowned. "What does he mean?"

All at once, the rest of the family looked at him like he was a clueless moron. Which he was.

In both forms.

"Nothing," Neji replied after a moment. "Um... Adult stuff."

Hizashi and Hinata looked to Neji like 'he's not going to buy that'.

"Oh, okay," Naruto nodded, going back to his food.

Everyone aside from Neji and Naruto faceplanted.


	22. 22

**Alright, so I was going to wait until I got five more votes, but since I got three more I guess I'll post this chapter, huh?**

 **I DID make a mistake on the last chapter - please go back and reread it, I reposted chapter 21 again and I hope it's different from chapter 20. If not, I'll repost chapters 20-22 again.**

 **Still need 14 more votes before I reveal to you the reason why I'm asking you to vote~**

 **Hope you like this chapter!**

 **~angelslaugh**

 **~:~**

The next night, the four families converged, watching the interaction of the group of four.

"Oi, I've been practicing!" Kiba scowled at Neji, who wore a superior smirk. "Nimueh was a kind person!"

"I highly doubt you learned anything from her," Neji said.

Kiba's gaze became murderous, and he brought out his sword. "Show me yours!"

Neji stood and settled into his Jyuuken stance. "I don't need a sword to kick your ass."

Naruto was there, smiling at them and unknowingly interrupting the fight. "Hey, Kiba! Want to cross blades with me?" she asked hopefully, bringing out her blood-red sword.

Kiba grinned. "Yeah!"

Both settled into stances. They started the fight, both drawing lots of blood, but still going until Kiba collapsed, Naruto breathing hard and collapsing next to him. Both broke into a laugh.

"It's hard to believe I thought her a demon," Tsume finally admitted to Hizashi, who looked mildly disapproving.

"That's idiotic," Shikaku murmured.

Yoshino sighed. "Oh, Shikaku - don't be stupid. Most of the villagers have the same mindset, after all."

"True," conceded Hizashi. "But there is something about her that is different than any of the jinchuuriki we have heard about or met." Mito-sama had been spoken of as cool, polite, and unapproachable, with an underlying hatred deep inside; Kushina had been loud, brash, and dying to prove herself, with a deep anger inside her that wasn't quite hatred; but Naruto... Naruto was polite, loud, brash, approachable, and filled to the brim of love. There wasn't a genuinely mean bone in her body (Well, there could be, but they had yet to see it, really).

"Eh, Kushina had all the extremely dangerous tasks, so I never really knew her like that Uchiha girl did," Tsume waved. "I meant that she's... I don't know. Human. And I can actually see that now." Tsume watched the girl mess around with her pup.

"Wow, Tsume, you __can__ be deep!" Yoshino said, eyes wide open, completely faking surprise.

"Ah, screw you," the matriarch scowled.

Yoshino laughed, Shikaku lazing around.

Together, the adults watched the four ninja mess around with each other, watching Naruto turn into a teenage boy, only for Kiba to say something that made the girl turn back into herself and yell at him heatedly.

Yeah, Naruto was okay.

~:~

Naruto waved goodbye to everyone, and they started to leave.

"That was fun," Kiba said, grinning.

Naruto beamed. "Yeah, it was."

They were full of good food, and more than that, they were happy leaving. They didn't need to sneak out like criminals, and it was just the four of them, off on the road ag-

"Wait! You morons!"

Saki's voice floated over to them. Her Konoha hitai-ate flashed in the night.

"Tsunade-sama asked me to join you, approving me to go with you to get Sasuke," she announced. "Whenever that is. Also, she asks if you'd be willing to do a few missions that she could only trust you guys with." Saki pushed her glasses up.

"Fine by me," Naruto shrugged.

"And me," Kiba answered. "I wanna test out my sword skills!"

Saki smiled. "I'd really like to test the strength of the Sharingan on the Byakugan. Settling clan feuds is a new start to the Uchiha clan."

"You're not the one going to be reviving your clan," Neji deadpanned.

Naruto scowled and muttered to herself.

"Naruto could do it for me. Right, sugarlips?"

Naruto facepalmed. "We're __not__ dating, Saki!"

"Not __yet,"__ Saki said with a crazed grin.

Shikamaru only sweatdropped.

~:~

They decided against seeing Haku and Zabuza again, this time running on the water on their own and getting to the island slower than Haku did. But if they'd gone to Haku and Zabuza, they probably would've had to explain a LOT.

"Wow," Saki said, staring at the ruins. "Mind if I take a few pictures?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't think you can go past a certain point." To prove it, she dragged Saki forward to about the point where Neji had been blocked off.

True to her thoughts, Saki slammed into the barrier, which actually glowed for a brief moment.

Naruto frowned. "Did you guys just see that?"

There was silence, and Naruto was met with four blank gazes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Neji said with a sigh, leaning forward to lean against the barrier - only to end up sprawled on the ground, his eyes wide.

Naruto beamed. "You're allowed to see it! Sweet!"

Saki pouted.

Naruto eagerly walked through the ruins, Neji gazing around in wonderment.

"I didn't see any of this when I followed you with my Byakugan before," Neji remarked.

"I think some of these ruins have only appeared again because I'm here," Naruto replied honestly. "A Queen hasn't sat in the throne since before the height of the Uzumaki. Kaa-san's line was the queen's line, most likely - Mito could've been born into the royal line, but I don't think the Throne would've allowed me to sit in it if I wasn't pure Royalty."

"I did notice that the Uzumakis I have seen photos of have lighter hair than yours," Neji commented.

Naruto frowned. "I wonder why..." She stopped, seeing one of the only nearly-intact buildings, a shrine-like building. Noises came from within, and both tensed, ready for a fight. Two slightly familiar people appeared, looking surprised to see Naruto. Not __too__ surprised, though, considering Naruto __was__ an Uzumaki.

"Hatori? Um... Neo?"

" _ _Nia,"__ Nia said in a flat voice. "I am Uzumaki Nia, at your service."

"Yep, we're here," Hatori said, far more at ease with Naruto. Possibly because she had helped them into Kumo. "Was your mission successful, then?"

"Yep," Naruto said with a grin. "What are you doing here?"

Hatori turned to Nia, who bowed her head and spoke.

"I ran into Hatori when leaving Kumo. Fortunately, she was willing to come along with me, to help with the rebuilding of Uzu." Nia stared at Naruto for a moment. "You are the newest Queen."

Naruto raised her hands. "I don't plan on ruling for a while."

Nia smiled. "Wanderlust is common in those of us who live for almost eternity."

Naruto looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Neji stepped forward, stopping Nia from answering.

"Uzumaki-san, Kaminari-san. I apologize for the interruption, but there is a barrier out there keeping our companions out."

Naruto gasped. "Oh my, I completely forgot about them!"

Neji facepalmed. "Well, I'm not surprised."

"The barrier will be let down when the barrier knows you are here and recognizes you have good intentions," Nia said. "Uzumakis are allowed automatic passage. The dead ones of old created this barrier that will act like a living shield, an extension of the island herself."

"I wish I knew more about my clan," Naruto admitted. "All I was told was that they were dead. My mother -"

Nia blinked. "Your mother?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Uzumaki Kushina. She died when I was born, but some of her chakra exists in me. She wasn't able to tell me much - she barely remembered Uzushio, because she was brought to Konoha to be used as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. The Kyuubi - he remembers. Even though he's been here so few times..." she laughed a little at that. Also, it was a nervous laugh.

Nia stared. "You are a Jinchuuriki Child? Amazing!" Nia looked at Hatori. "We found some mentions in the temple - want to take a look?"

Neji's Byakugan activated and he looked in the direction of the barrier.

"Saki, Shikamaru, and Kiba are in," he reported. "Headed this way now."

"Let's go into the temple," Naruto decided.

"Only you two may come in," Nia said. "I do not know the others. I cannot allow them in."

Naruto bit her lip.

"NARUTO!" Saki's shout made her glance back. Saki's face was red from exertion. "Naruto, their chakra -" she sucked in large breaths. "Their chakras are overlapped by other chakras!"

 _ _The dead ones of old created this barrier that will act like a living shield, an extension of the island herself. Jinchuuriki Child.__

 _ _Nia's formal speech.__

Naruto kept herself calm. "Why do you occupy their bodies?"

Neji looked angry.

"Neji, don't be angry. They're Uzumaki dead - they probably know of the Byakugan."

"We did this to see the next Queen," Hatori's voice said, a double intonation in her voice. Creepy, really. "To see you, Queen. To meet you - you and us for the first time, us and you for the second."

"Huh?"

Naruto never saw it coming - after all, her back was turned. But the handle of a kunai hit the bundle of nerves in her neck, and she was out like a light


	23. 23

**Please vote~ I have 11 votes and I am aiming for 20~ if you can't vote or are using Fanfiction Mobile, please vote by reviewing~ I will count it as a vote and later add them!**

 **Who do you think would be great for this story's Naruto, if it weren't for Neji? (I will explain why later, as soon as I finish getting 20 votes!)**

 **The options are:**

 **Gaara**

 **Kankuro**

 **Temari**

 **Darui**

 **Suigetsu**

 **Those are the choices.**

 **Oh, and Guest! I am SO sorry. I looked over what is pre-written, and I realized I had Danzou's reasoning in the NEXT arc... I'm sorry. But make no mistake, the next arc is not too far away, and will be surprising for all involved. I say at most five or six chapters if I make the chapters longer. So sorry! If you REAALLLY want to know, PM me if you have a profile and I will tell you. I know how much you've been waiting, and again, I am SO sorry.**

 **Without further ado, this chapter!**

 **~:~**

The two of the dead looked at the duo tied in the center of the seal. Time travel was an impossibility - well, not for the long dead with eternity on their hands. Time travel? Long since cracked.

The seal was a both a seal to travel to the past and a countdown seal that would attach itself to the two sitting in the middle. Once the time was up, they would be back here, not a minute later. Essentially, it was the seal itself that would be their bodies, as they wouldn't age a day. Complicated, but the ghosts had been there for a _while,_ unable to rest because of their violent deaths.

This would at least give them a _little_ peace.

Together, the ghost of Uzumaki Kona and Uzumaki Kamido sent the two spiraling into the past.

~:~

Naruto's eyes cracked open. A burning sensation had made her body immobile for a while, but now that it had subsided, she felt a lot better.

Or, well, she _had._ Before she realized she was being carried, princess-style, by a male Uzumaki with wicked scars on his face. And she was tied up.

"Kyaaah! I don't wanna sleep with you!" She tried to maneuver herself out of his arms, but he looked down and she froze, intimidated by his glare.

"Naruto, please don't struggle." Neji's voice floated over to her, a bit high -

Oh, she _so_ wished she had a camera right now. Neji was also in a princess carry, looking resigned to his fate.

Well, he hadn't quite lost his baby fat yet, so she couldn't say he _didn't_ look like a Hyuuga female.

She shook with the effort of trying to stay silent, but eventually her guffaws broke through and she was laughing in the male Uzumaki's arms, finding the whole situation a tad ridiculous.

Neji glared at her.

"Fuck you!" he spat in that shrill voice.

She thrashed in the man's arms, finding it hard to stop.

"Oh, kamis!" she gasped. "I needed that! I really did!"

"Why?" Neji asked. "Because Saki keeps trying to suck face with you?"

That wiped the smirk off of her face. She waited until they were dumped into a tent, secured together, then left alone to speak properly.

"She's not really interested in me, -ttebayo. She's just using me as a distraction. She IS bisexual, though," Naruto added with a grin.

"Why is she using you?"

"Oh, um... Well, Itachi - you know, the guy who killed off her clan?" Neji made a little noise that she interpreted as an affirmative. Naruto nodded. "Yep. Apparently she was engaged to him or something. She grew up with him - and me, sort of." She didn't particularly want to delve into that mess.

Neji gasped. "But - you didn't know Sasuke until the Academy!"

"Ugh, I know. I knew Itachi and Shisui because they were part of my AN-, er, security. You know, because of my dad," Naruto hinted, in case people were listening. "Him, Shisui, Yugao, and Kaka-sensei were part of my regular guard. Of course they switched out, and at first they never interacted with me, but..." Naruto closed her eyes and hunched in on herself a little. "After an incident with a drunken mob, I had to learn how to protect myself. Yugao-nee-san taught me swords, Shisui taught me the _shunshin_ jutsu and a little swordplay himself, while Itachi was a loser and trained while Shisui taught me. Kakashi never directly interacted with me until I officially met him after Iruka-sensei finally became my mother figure." Naruto sighed and shifted a little. "It wasn't until I'd been Shisui's unofficial student that Saki crashed into my life, the only reason she was there being that she was still Itachi's betrothed. She had an incident with her Sharingan, got kicked out, but got a funded apartment, yadda yadda. Shisui, Saki, and I were the bane of Itachi's existence."

Naruto smiled. Those had been fun days.

"I met a little boy, too. Yota. Don't know what happened to him - only that he vanished, and left me behind. Shisui wouldn't say anything about it, but I was on village lockdown the week he was killed. I had no idea why." Naruto closed her eyes. "Itachi came to me that night. He was... Crying. I wanted to help him, but he left without saying a word. Saki vanished - I thought she was dead until I graduated and happened to realized she was part of the understaffed Intel Corps." She sighed and leaned her head forward. "I picked up some sword skills from some other jounin. But it obviously stopped when I had to graduate dead last to do what the old man, the one before baa-san, ordered me to do. Protect Sasuke." Naruto heaved a sigh.

Neji leaned back. "Why him and not Saki?"

Naruto gave a short chuckle. "The Nerds in the Intel department rarely get out. You know Saki's pathetic stamina?"

"...You have _got_ to be _kidding me."_

Naruto snorted. "I wish." She groaned a little. "What did those ghosts do to us, anyway?"

"Judging by the fact we're tied up, there are redheads everywhere, and the fact that the Uzumaki swirl is on every tent, I'd say the past," Neji said with a sigh.

Naruto grinned, but then paused.

"Oh, fuck." She turned her head as far as she could. "Neji, I hope to Kami you're used to your seal being messed with."

"I am," Neji whispered. Naruto took a few deep breaths.

They were in the Clan Wars Era. Uzumakis everywhere. Which meant torture was definitely a possibility.

"Hold on," Neji said, sounding surprised. "I think... Naruto, I think I see the Shodai." He paused. "And the Nidaime."

Naruto felt a deep curl of _hate_ pervading her being.

 _Kurama, what's wrong?_

 **This means this is nearing the founding of Konoha. Only about a decade before I was sealed in that** ** _bitch._**

Naruto swallowed. _Mokuton_ was the only element that could stop Kurama, but Naruto didn't really - oh, that wasn't o _nly_ Kurama's hate.

She hated Senju Tobirama. Like, _bite his head off._

A growl built in her chest.

His fears about the Uchiha led to Shisui's death, Saki's tears -

 **You cannot kill him now. If you do, what you do is** ** _irreversible._**

Naruto snarled at nothing. "I want him _dead._ He caused everything!"

 **And yet, you probably wouldn't be aware of your heritage if you killed him. Although, it WOULD create an interesting paradox.**

"Who do you want dead?" Neji asked.

"It's not as if I _can_ kill the dude," Naruto sighed. "Paradox, according to the fox. It's the Nidaime. He screwed up _everything."_

Neji hummed.

He gasped, then shifted forward.

"Neji?"

"They're here."

~:~

Senju Hashirama felt really weird. Like something wasn't supposed to be there.

Entering the tent, he saw two children in strange clothes - wait, no, the Hyuuga was dressed in Hyuuga clothes, and the redhead was the one dressed weirdly. Well, not really - it was difficult to explain. The girl wasn't wearing a dress like all women did (except for the few kunoichi in the clans, and even then, they didn't wear pants in non-combat situations), and their weapons were still on them, as the Uzumaki could _clearly_ stop the girl in her tracks if she tried anything, same with the Hyuuga.

"Hello," he said, trying to approach as nicely as he could.

The girl glanced at him. The marks on her cheek gave her an exotic look, but the thought of her being a looker when she was older was revolting.

 _Not_ that he was insulting her. Nope, she looked cute.

"I'm Senju Hashirama. What's -"

"Please," the girl scoffed. "Don't treat us like civilians."

"Naruto, please. Be _nice."_

"Tch! The hell should I be nice?! His freakin' allies kidnapped us, holding us against out will -"

"We must've randomly appeared, thanks to whatever those two ghosts did." The Hyuuga was keeping his face from them. Naruto gained an irk mark.

"YOU THINK IF WE SAY THAT IT MAKES US LOOK LESS CRAZY, -TTEBAYO?! NO, IT JUST MAKES US LOOK LIKE FRIGGIN' _LUNATICS!"_

"STOP YELLING!" Mito shut them up with _her_ impressive set of lungs.

And Naruto went silent. Hashirama had a bad feeling.

"You. Do. Not. Order. Me. Around."

Yep. Bad feeling. Tobirama stepped in.

"Little girl. You -"

The girl _growled._

Hashirama swore as he realized that she was getting _pissed._ And her chakra was rising.

Mito's hand moved, and a scream sounded from the Hyuuga.

The girl's chakra evaporated.

"No!" A pair of wide, horrified eyes met Hashirama's. "Please, no!" The redhead looked at Mito. "I'll - I'll cooperate! I give you my word as an Uzumaki!"

Mito stopped the jutsu.

"What?" her voice was cold. Angry.

The girl swallowed, and held her head up.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, future Queen of the Uzumaki."

Hashirama looked at Mito, whose eyes flashed.

"What?"

She put her fingers in the same gesture -

"I'm willing to prove it, -ttebayo!"

"If you lie to me, I will kill you," Mito snapped.

Naruto looked at her, eyes shining with tears, and yet managing to look angry.

"And if you hurt Neji again, _I'll_ kill _you_."

Hashirama knew this kid wasn't joking.


	24. 24

**Please vote~ I have 14 votes and I am aiming for 20~ if you can't vote or are using Fanfiction Mobile, please vote by reviewing~ I will count it as a vote and later add them!**

 **Who do you think would be great for this story's Naruto, if it weren't for Neji? (I will explain why later, as soon as I finish getting 20 votes!)**

 **The options are:**

 **Gaara**

 **Kankuro**

 **Temari**

 **Darui**

 **Suigetsu**

 **Those are the choices.**

 **This will be possibly the only chapter today, so I will try to post something on Christmas for you. Happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas! My sister's getting married today!**

 **Without further ado... The story!**

 **(I wrote this arc when I was exhausted, so please, don't hate~. Actually, I wrote most of this story at night, so...**

 **Itachi-sama: angelslaugh-chan doesn't own Naruto. She does own Saki-chan.**

 **angelslaugh: *blushes* You called me angelslaugh- _chan..._ )**

 **~angelslaugh**

 **~:~**

"This kid claims to be our future queen," Mito said, shoving Naruto forward. Naruto fell down into the dirt. She heard the laughs, and her eye twitched and she rose from the dirt slowly.

 **Your arms, kit. Your upper arms are your proof.**

Naruto snapped the rope that bound her wrists. Then she ripped off both her sleeves of her shirt, glaring at them all.

As everyone got a closer look, the two Senju looked highly confused.

"I _am_ the Queen of the Uzumaki in my time," Naruto proclaimed. "I am a child of a jinchuuriki, and I _am_ one. If my arms don't prove my lineage, than I give you permission to look through my memories if it is necessary."

Everyone gave each other looks.

Mito squeaked. She literally _squeaked._

"Uzumaki-sama!" She knelt.

Naruto felt _incredibly_ awkward as everyone bowed. "Uh... Um..." She waved her hands frantically. "Please don't bow!"

Neji burst out of the tent.

"Naruto! Are you -"

Naruto screamed in shock.

"Neji!" she clutched her heart. "You scared me!"

Neji stared at her. "I was in the tent for a _minute._ A _minute,_ Naruto!"

Naruto scowled at him.

"I didn't think you'd be up in time -"

"Hashirama, Madara is coming," Tobirama interrupted. The Uzumakis rose, bustling, and pretty much ignoring Naruto as they got battle-ready. Somehow Naruto and Neji stood next to the Senjus.

Naruto bit her lip. She hadn't seen any sign of his Mokuton, so...

"Hey," Hashirama said. She looked up at him. "Madara's not a bad guy -"

Tobirama snorted.

"And it's pretty much a peace meeting. No, Tobirama, stop scoffing, it's true," Hashirama snapped.

"I can handle it," Naruto said, ignoring Kurama's growl. "Also, I hate you, Tobirama-san." She shot Tobirama a dirty look. "You suck. Big time."

Neji facepalmed.

"He's here." Tobirama ignored her words and looked in the direction that was the front of the camp. "We should go. Please, future Queen, stay here."

Naruto rolled her eyes and did the _henge_ jutsu, making herself appear older, traditional Uzumaki robes appearing on her. Her cheeks retained the whisker marks, and she knew she still looked younger than Hashirama and Tobirama, but she would _not_ miss her chance to meet Konoha's first traitor. Neji sighed.

"Can you _henge_ me? I wish to meet him, too."

Naruto beamed. "Sure!" She closed her eyes, imagined what Neji would look like older, and called chakra to her hand. She was gifted in this art, as she pressed her hand onto his neck.

When she opened her eyes, she blinked and stared at him.

"You look nice," she said to him, then looking at the two stunned-looking Senjus. "Well, we going to meet him or what?"

~:~

He was... _Hot._

Naruto had to admit she was a sucker for tall, dark, and seriously sexy. And okay, she was only fourteen right now and Kurama had told her on the way that they'd leave, but... But... Oh my kamis, it was nosebleed-worthy as Hashirama moved to greet him.

But Tobirama stopped him, and Hashirama sighed.

"Right." He made a few handsigns, and wood came out of nowhere.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Oh my gosh Neji, he just used it!" She went full fangirl mode. "He just used it! My life is complete!"

Neji hit her on the head, an irk mark appearing. "You _idiot,_ do you _want_ me to kill you for your idiocy? I swear you have gotten _dumber."_

"Sorry!" the redhead said, standing up, a bit of blood trickling down her forehead. "You have a nice right hook, husband!"

She smiled dazedly at him.

"Oh no!" Neji was horrified. "Did I hit you too har- oof!"

He was sent into the dirt by Naruto.

"Haha! My revenge! I am the awesomest person in the world!"

"NARUTO!" Neji rose and looked quite murderous, his eyes in his Byakugan.

"Oh, calm yourself," Naruto waved. "Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo!" she went right up in the first traitor of Konoha, smiled, and grabbed his hand, shaking it vigorously. "It's nice to know you're hot!"

Naruto slapped her mouth, going crimson.

"Naruto..."

Madara looked startled.

"Are you alright?"

Naruto beamed. "Yep! Just admiring your physique!" Really, though, it must've been the head injury -

She collapsed right there, pulled into her mindscape.

~:~

Neji darted forward, checking over her for injuries. "If you had hurt her, I would have killed you," he said to Madara flatly. He must've hurt Naruto far more grievously than he thought. He carried her into the camp, ignoring the two gaping Senjus. Really, Naruto was _bold_ when she had a head injury.

He sighed as he set her down, checking her head wound.

It was as he assumed. The Kyuubi was probably pissed.

~:~

 **"HEAD WOUND OR NOT, YOU WERE** ** _FLIRTING_** **WITH UCHIHA MADARA!"**

"I realize that now."

 **"YOU'RE AN IDIOT!"**

"...I realize that, too, my awesome fox companion."

~:~

"Are they all that... Forward?" Madara asked, wondering if he'd have to deal with that person again.

"No," Hashirama said flatly. "She recently got a rather bad head wound... In fact, you just saw it happen."

They discussed other things as Mito came to sit down.

~:~

It was nearing dusk as Madara shook Hashirama's hand, bowed over Mito, and began to walk away when a roar split the heavens.

"This far inland?" Mito gasped. "But - it's a sea creature!" Mito gasped.

The couple from earlier raced to Mito.

"Is it the -"

"What was that?"

"Neji-san, Naruto-sama, forgive me. The Hachibi is not native to this area, and I thought we were safe from it here. We brought only one of the sealers, and -"

"No," Naruto replied, glancing at Madara briefly. "Madara-san, you, Mito-sama, and Hashirama-sama stop the chaos and tell nobody of the Hachibi - tell them it's a forest monster. Tobirama-sama-teme, I hate you, but we need to work together in order for this to work. The Hachibi must _not_ be sealed _yet._ Do we understand each other?"

Mito gritted her teeth, but nodded and bent her head. "Very well, Naruto-sama."

Naruto's eyes flashed with guilt.

"Oh, and Mito-sama, please only tell the ones with the Adamantine chakra to come."

Mito's eyes widened. "The sea is five _days_ from here."

"I'm glad we understand each other, but I have a plan that doesn't really include the sea," Naruto grinned.

Neji looked at Madara appraisingly. Then veins bulged out on his head, and Madara tensed. Even though he'd _thought_ he was a Hyuuga - it was completely UNHEARD OF to marry outside the clan.

"Naruto, the Hachibi is getting closer." He then glanced at Madara. "You even _think_ about helping the Uzumakis seal the bijuu and I'll... Do something."

"Neji," the other redhead hissed in warning.

"I shall go with you," Tobirama announced.

"Then let's go. Mito?"

"Got it," Mito said with a sigh.

Madara followed Mito hesitantly.

He didn't want to cause any undue panic, after all.

"Kamido! Kona! Find Naruto, and follow her orders to the letter," Mito said. "Madara, Hashirama... Go help if you can."

Both nodded and sprinted, Madara's Sharingan glowing.

~:~

Naruto panted as she used her chakra on her chains. Two others were there, with plain adamantine chains. Tobirama used his Flying Thunder God technique to pin the giant eight-tentacled being to the ground, while the Uzumakis used their chains to immobilize and more firmly pin the great being to the ground. Naruto made sure Tobirama wasn't watching, and created a clone of herself silently.

Neji called to her.

"Hashirama and Madara are approaching!"

"Keep 'em occupied!" Naruto focused and connected a thin stream of demonic energy to her clone. Then she fell to one knee and focused.

~:~

Tobirama glanced at the Queen of the Uzumaki, watching as she concentrated as a copy of her appeared. Chakra flared almost violently, and he flinched as he felt a massive burst of anger flare in the bijuu.

"Oh, hush it," the copy of the Queen said. "I'm here, to honor something of the future here and now, in the past of my country. Hachibi-sama, I ask that you leave and never return to Uzushiogakure."

The Hachibi roared something indistinguishable to Tobirama.

"I understand, but you have to understand their side," the redhead said. "Please."

Madara burst into the clearing, his Sharingan eyes spinning.

"Jyuuken Hou: Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" Chakra-laced palms hit Madara's back, obviously closing his tenketsu. Still, Madara held his ground, turning to slam his hand into Neji's nose.

A burst of smoke later, and Neji's true form was revealed, clutching his bleeding nose.

"You're just a child," Madara said, looking shocked.

The Hachibi disappeared, a mini version of the monster scuttling away.

Another poof of smoke, and the copy of the Queen of the Uzumaki vanished.

The chains slipped back into the back of the users, the orange chains into Naruto's back. The Queen's disguise slipped off, and once again Tobirama was astonished at the young age of the Queen and her... Friend.

The Queen passed out, her red hair spreading behind her.

"Naruto!" Neji staggered to the young woman, glaring at the Uchiha as he passed. Tobirama privately thought that the glare he was giving Madara matched the hate the Queen of the Uzumakis had given him.

The Queen stirred, and blinked. "I hate Shadow Clones sometimes." She glanced at Tobirama, wide-eyed, and Tobirama glanced at his bruised brother as he limped up, pretending he didn't hear her words.

"Thank you, Kona-san, Kamido-san," Naruto was saying after Tobirama made quick work of being assured of his brother's safety. "Please tell Mito-sama that I thank her."

"Will you not stay?" Kamido asked, his voice deep.

Naruto smiled. "I don't think we can." Naruto held Neji's hand - honestly, Tobirama felt like he was intruding quite a bit as Naruto smiled at Neji. "I think its time that we leave. Like, as in leave the past."

"Your going to your future?" Kona asked, looking excited. "Is it a good one?"

Naruto smiled a little. "If I could answer that, being either dishonest or truthful, I would not know which is the truth or the lie," she responded seriously. Not evading the question, just not quite answering fully. She glanced at Madara and then Tobirama, looking troubled.

Tobirama wondered why.

Her gaze lingered last on Hashirama, puzzlement in her eyes instead of the curiosity and the hate she'd had for Madara and Tobirama respectively.

Within one blink and the next, the odd duo were gone.


	25. 25

**Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you've had a fantastic holiday~ Happy holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas! Here's a chapter for you!**

 **(Itachi-sama: angelslaugh-chan doesn't own Naruto, but does own Saki.**

 **Naruto: Hey, guys! I'm so psyched for- *pauses* angelslaugh-chan, why make Saki-**

 **angelslaugh: Shut up! STOP SPOILING MY STORY! Jeez.**

 **Itachi-sama: Don't worry, Naruto-chan. She yelled at me the other week...**

 **Naruto: *sulks* Sorry... Sorry...)**

~:~

Naruto came to right as Saki burst in, blood coming from her head, having been literally tossed through the door by Kiba.

Saki blinked as Hatori and Nia both crumpled, white mist exiting their bodies.

"So... The ghosts are gone?" Saki asked in a weak tone.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, feeling fine with zero chakra exhaustion. "Let's get Hatori and Nia to a safer place."

Saki nodded and got up. Naruto caught her friend as Kiba entered, stopping Saki from fainting. "Kiba, Neji, Shika, can you three carry Nia and Hatori out?"

"Just what is this place?" Shikamaru grunted as he picked up half of Hatori, then used his shadow imitation ability to keep her in a standing position.

"I think it's an Uzumaki shrine," Naruto replied as they walked up the steps. "I think we should keep it closed for now. Just for now," she added as the white mist seemed to swirl angrily. She stepped out of the shrine, blinking, and for a minute she swore she saw Mito standing not five feet away, looking as young as she did when Naruto had met her not a couple hours before.

Mito vanished. Either she was a ghost, or she was just a remnant, watching... Either way.

Naruto didn't want to know right then.

~:~

Kiba watched as Naruto gave Hatori and Nia some medicine and administered first aid on Saki. He was kind of jealous of Neji - he'd been stuck with a woman that Kiba liked. Originally, it was Hinata, but he found he was quite disinterested in Hinata now. Now, he was kind of interested by Saki, but most of his interest was held by Naruto.

He was pretty sure that it was useless. Her and Neji had more in common than Kiba and Naruto did - but maybe he'd have a chance when he was older. When all of them were older.

Saki swatted Naruto's hand away, protesting she was fine.

Kiba sighed lowly.

"You and Naruto are not going to be together," Shikamaru said lazily. "You don't have a chance in hell."

Kiba glared at Shika and threw a stick at his face. Not like the lazy ass cared.

~:~

If Shikamaru had to guess, it would be that Neji and Naruto would, at some point in their lives, realize that they were compatible and then, at some point, marry and have the interesting mix of being the first Hyuuga and Uzumaki to ever marry.

Well, if the Uzumaki had a doujutsu, that would - assuming that the doujutsu was passed down through the line of the mother - result in possibly blind children.

Of course, that was IF they realized they were compatible. Saki didn't really factor into the equation - not unless Naruto was willing to change into a guy and give Saki the first (possibly the first) Uzumaki-Uchiha breed of children.

The fire crackled as they all got ready for bed, Hatori and Nia still sleeping quietly.

Shikamaru sighed. There was time for thinking tomorrow.

~:~

By the time the others had awoken, Naruto had been through a shocking revelation about the Uzumaki, Senju, and Uchiha - as well what that meant through her own lineage.

Nia was stirring the breakfast soup as Naruto finished packing all the stuff up.

"Up and at 'em!" Naruto called.

Kiba, Shika, Saki, and Neji sat up, their hair untaimed. Naruto shoved bowls of the soup in their faces.

"We're leaving Uzushio!" Naruto beamed. "We are going to Suna!"

An answering groan came from the still-asleep teens.

~:~

Akasuna no Sasori tilted his head as he looked at his spy. "You've failed me, for the first time."

The silver-haired boy, Kabuto, flinched.

"I want the child who claims to be the Uzushio Queen. I want her alive - if she is alive, I can make use of her chakra and powers," he added to himself almost distantly. "You have three years to give her to me. You fail, you become part of my collection." Sasori tilted his head. "You don't want that, now do you?"

"The girl has powers," Kabuto said, bowing even further. "She holds the Kyuubi no Yoko; is the child of a jinchuuriki."

Sasori glared at him. "I am no fool," he spat out. Kabuto recoiled a little. "I want the girl _alive._ I wil only tolerate failure so many times, Kabuto."

Kabuto nodded frantically. "As you command."

Sasori nodded, satisfied. "Three years," he repeated.

Deidara appeared, not yelling about art or announcing himself. He was rather irritable lately - but Sasori did not concern himself with that.

"Deidara, to ensure Kabuto does not betray me, imbed in him a tracking bomb. If he betrays me, make it blow up."

Instead of refusing, Deidara silently did as he was told. Rather unlike him. His art pieces were made quickly and burrowed under the skin of the informant.

"I have another puppet user to confront," the puppet man muttered to himself. "Stir up trouble for the Sand... Ah, what a good day."

Of course, this was just to make Akasuna no Sasori more human. He had a plan for the jinchuuriki Queen - and she would fall right into his trap. Deidara was far better at _genjutsu_ than most, and Sasori had seen enough to know that jinchuuriki _could_ detect illusions. He only needed a single moment.

A single moment, and he would have the jinchuuriki girl under his control. He would make her like him, except he would keep the flesh. But making her bones metal would make them stronger.

Yes, Sasori had several _living_ puppets, all of them having some bloodline or another. Having a living Uzumaki with the Uzumaki chains... Ah, if Sasori could _feel_ he would feel smug.

After she was turned into the living puppet, the Akatsuki could have the Kyuubi. All Sasori wanted was the Queen and her abilities added to his collection.

Oh, no, he couldn't _wait._


	26. 26

Kaze no Kuni was hot, dry, and sandy. Suna was hard to find at first, considering that Naruto had no clue just _where_ Suna was located, but they found it after the sixth or seventh day thanks to Gaara and the Ichibi and a bunch of caravan bandits.

A bunch of caravan bandits had drugged the small traveling group, just enough so that they were unable to move but able to speak. It was in their water, as the group hadn't thought to buy some more water from one of the several cities on the way. They'd figured they'd find Suna quickly - only to be quickly mistaken and lost.

The two girls of the group were mostly stripped quickly, and Naruto tried to fight the drug. Kurama's chakra moved through her body, helping her, but Kurama said nothing. Naruto tried not to let that bother her as she started to fight against the ropes binding her.

"No, no, sweet thing," one of the bandits said. "All you can do is -"

Naruto stopped struggling, going completely limp as sand suddenly assaulted the bandits.

She snapped her ropes, and although she was still relatively naked, she walked through the camp and grabbed hers and Saki's clothes. She dressed Saki as quickly as possible, a sand wall covering their modesty.

Naruto winced a little as screams assaulted her ears.

As soon as they were done and the sand had quieted down, a head popped over. Temari looked down upon them - not that Naruto would have minded. Temari was an ally, if not a friend.

"They're done, Gaara," Temari called, vanishing over the top.

The wall crumbled, and the Sand Siblings stood there, all stoic.

Then Gaara stepped forward, grabbed Naruto's wrist with sand, and pulled her into a hug.

"Hello," Gaara said, after releasing Naruto.

"Hi, Gaara," Naruto smiled a little shyly, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Um, well, hi. I was wondering if you could show us into Suna?"

Gaara tilted his head. "Why?" he asked.

"I need to ask your dad something," she said, frowning a little bit. "And some water."

Gaara nodded. "Follow us."

"Gaara -" Kankuro said, pausing at Gaara's look. "Father said you were to have no contact with her." He glanced at Naruto.

"I also told him he sucked," Gaara said placidly.

Naruto snorted. "Perhaps if he knew who my dad was, he'd be more apt to listen."

"Who is your dad?" Temari asked, frowning.

"The Yondaime Hokage," Naruto replied breezily. "Also, this is Uchiha Saki, Sasuke's really distant cousin."

Saki waved, then fixed her glasses. "Can we get moving? My feet are killing me."

And with that, they were off. Off to a new adventure.

~:~

Rasa looked up as the door opened silently. Gaara stood there, looking calmer than Rasa had ever seen him.

"Father, the bandits were taken care of." Normally Gaara would walk away immediately after saying this, but he stood there, as if waiting for his father to talk.

"Alright, Gaara. Out with it." Rasa may not have been the best parent, but that didn't mean he'd send his child away. Spending time with his kid was important, even if said kid was a raging psychopath with a raging psychopathic monster in his head.

"Naruto is here, in Suna. She wants to talk to you." Gaara looked at his father as if daring to tell him off for talking to the girl.

"And why would I talk to her?" Rasa asked his son, leaving it as an open-ended question.

"Because she is the Yondaime Hokage's daughter," Gaara said, starting to turn away. "And the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

Rasa stared at his son's back. His son took his silence as a negative and started to close the door, but paused as Rasa sighed.

"Let her in." He glanced down at the scroll before him.

"Naruto, you can come in." Gaara's voice was still as calm as ever.

A redhead entered, her hair a darker red than any Uzumaki that Rasa knew. "Um, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." She bit her lip, shifting on her feet. "I came to ask you to teach me the blood clone jutsu. I want to restore my clan - our clan - to its former glory." She bowed her head and awaited his answer.

Rasa thought to himself. Then he glanced at the scroll in front of him.

"You claim to have Uzumaki blood. If you do, I want you to prove it," he said, throwing the scroll at her.

She opened it. A skeptical eyebrow was raised.

"I don't care how you do it. Execute the missing-nin Mukade, and I will teach you the blood clone technique."

Naruto hesitated, her aquamarine eyes meeting Rasa's. He was startled - he recalled a woman with similar aquamarine eyes, although those eyes had far less blue in them than these.

The hesitation passed, and she nodded. "Fine. Done."

He settled back in his chair, and she bowed rather stiffly. Then she turned away.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama - and one more question." She turned back to him, frowning. "Who is Akasuna no Sasori?"

The Kazekage felt no obligation to withhold the information she sought this time. "An S-Ranked missing ninja from this village. Puppet master. I have heard that he has gone so far as to create a type of _living_ puppets, not that I condone that sort of thing from my ninja."

The teen paled. "L-living puppets? Maybe bloodline users?"

Rasa frowned.

"Perhaps. Why?"

"Oh, it's just I heard from an enemy that... Well... Sasori wanted me alive." She looked like she needed to sit. Gaara hadn't moved from his spot near the door, and Rasa watched his face go murderous.

"Gaara." Gaara turned to Rasa. "Consider this a... Diplomatic mission. You will accompany Naruto on her trip, and you will serve as her protector."

Gaara nodded. "Yes, Father."

Rasa leaned forward as Naruto stared at Rasa.

"It isn't that I doubt your claim, Naruto-san. It's just that I wish to be certain that if you _are_ the Queen of the Uzumaki, you don't die. If you're not, Gaara can kill you. I have no doubt you _are_ an Uzumaki - however, I do doubt you are _queen._ Gaara, think of this as a step towards Kazekage." He smirked to himself triumphantly as Gaara, for the first time, showed surprise on his face.

Naruto gave him a shaky, but seemingly genuine smile.

"Congrats, Gaara!" She leaped on him, and Rasa winced and closed his eyes, waiting for the metallic scent of blood to stain the air.

"Naruto, stop touching me."

"I'm _hugging_ you, Gaara."

"Stop _hugging_ me, then. It's irritating."

"Screw you, Gaara. I'm hugging you whether you like it or not!"

"I'll kill you," Gaara warned.

"No you won't, and if you did I'd haunt you from the afterlife," was the cheeky response given.

Rasa opened his eyes. She looked fine, grinning at Gaara, unharmed. She still looked quite peaky, but considering the news she'd just received, it wasn't that unexpected.

"I expect a report soon," Rasa said, turning his chair around.

"Very well, Father." Gaara seemed to shift, and two sets of footsteps left the office quietly. Rasa smirked to himself. If the two ended up together, well... All the more reason to push them into journeying together.


	27. 27

**the shadow of nature: Voting is over. Gaara has won with majority votes, Kankuro... Not close behind, but in second place, with Temari and Suigetsu and Darui all in last place... My brain's scrambled... Two flights home, got up at three in the morning, now it's 10 PM... Soooo tired... But my sister got married! Yay!**

 **Yeah... Tired. Later!**

 **~angelslaugh**

 **~;`**

"I'm staying here," Shikamaru announced to the group as Gaara added to it. "Temari invited me to stay. Kankurou advised me to take the vacation."

"I want to go," Saki said with a grin.

"I'm obviously going," Neji said coolly.

"So, who are we after?" Kiba asked, his tone eager.

"A missing ninja, named Mukade," Naruto said, tossing Shikamaru his bundle. He smiled lazily at her, then ambled out. "He's headed to the ruins of Rouran."

"The city whose princess vanished?" Saki asked, perking up. "With that sealed chakra reservoir in it?"

Everyone in the room turned to Saki.

"What?" the Uchiha asked. "I _am_ an Intel nin."

Naruto grinned and slung an arm around Saki. "So can you tell us if there's a report concerning this dude, like anywhere?"

Saki closed her eyes.

Naruto waited, still and tense. Saki had a perfect recall - something that came in handy with eyes like the Sharingan, eyes that memorized everything like her mind.

"The Yondaime Hokage submitted a report... Three, maybe four, years before he became Hokage." Saki frowned. "I can't recall the rest of the report," she said, opening her eyes.

Naruto frowned. "Saki -"

Saki cut her off. "I _know,_ Naruto."

"What's wrong?" Kiba asked, concerned, looking between Saki and Naruto. "And how the hell don't I know you? You should have been in the Academy with us."

Naruto bit her lip. "Kiba, chill out. Saki's -"

"She could be a spy," noted Neji. "At the very least, she should have been in _my_ class, as an Uchiha -"

"I learned on my own," Saki snapped. "I entered a Chuunin Exam by myself. Naruto helped me get in. I nearly won. I'm an Uchiha in name only, okay? Sasuke's my younger cousin. I didn't attend the Academy because I was exiled from my clan," Saki informed them frostily. "I awoke my Sharingan under... Odd circumstances."

Naruto scowled at her. " _'Odd circumstances'?"_ she cried. "I was nearly beheaded by your cousin!"

"You nearly killed him with an arrow!"

"I wasn't aware I sucked _that bad_ at archery until that moment!"

"Who nearly killed who?" interrupted an amused-looking Shikamaru.

Naruto blushed and Saki smirked.

"Well," Saki began, that smirk growing wider on her face. "It started when my cousin, Shisui, decided to teach Naruto here archery."

~:~

 _SEVERAL YEARS AGO_

 _"Naruto, I'm going to teach you archery!" Shisui informed the younger girl, who blinked at him from behind her ramen._

 _"What's archery?" Naruto asked, tilting her head adorably, not even phased anymore about him randomly appearing in her apartment. Shisui was teaching her how to use weapons - mostly the sword, because that's what he was best at, of course, but it could get dull teaching her swordsmanship day in and day out when he was free. And while that was rarer now that he was in ANBU, he did ignore his less important duties to teach her stuff._

 _He said it was more important to learn how to defend herself than his small jobs were._

 _"Well, it's more of target practice, because nobody uses bows anymore," Shisui chuckled. "Bows and arrows, sweetie. Together, they're called archery."_

 _Naruto slurped up the rest of her ramen and took Shisui's hand. Shisui grinned, and with a flicker they were gone, to the amusement of her ANBU guards._

 _"He stole her again," Neko-san said with barely-concealed laughter._

 _"Is this normal?" Pig asked, sounding freaked out._

 _"Pig, chill out. He'll return her here when they're done," Neko sighed._

 _Pig slumped in relief._

 _"Meanwhile, who wants dango?" Hebi offered cheerfully, manifesting a random pack of pocky._

 _Neko sweatdropped. "Hebi, that's pocky."_

 _~"~_

 _Naruto swallowed. Shisui's short sword was out to deflect any wayward arrows. Naruto settled into her stance, and just as she began to release the string, a voice cut the air._

 _"Oi, Shisui, whatcha -"_

 _Naruto jerked, her arrow streaking towards Shisui. Shisui's sword flashed, deflecting the arrow and moving quickly away from the arrow. Sadly, Shisui overextended himself and lost his balance for a second, his arm jerking and Naruto screamed, a scream coming from the person approaching as Shisui nearly killed Naruto._

 _And, as it turned out, made Saki's eyes turn red._

 _"Saki!" Shisui said, regaining his balance. Naruto was sprawled on the ground, terrified out of her mind. "You nearly killed me!"_

 _"That..._ _Usuratonkachi is the one that nearly killed you!" Saki screamed, pointing at Naruto wildly._

 _"Don't pretend you didn't distract me!" Naruto screamed back._

 _"You're lucky I'm a ninja and not allowed to kill civilians!"_

 _"You're lucky I was the one who helped you become a ninja!"_

 _Saki and Naruto glared at each other for a moment before huffing and looking away from each other._

 _Shisui started to laugh, and at that sound both girls looked at him._

 _He fell on the ground, still laughing, and Naruto looked at Saki, who nodded._

 _Both children pounced on Shisui, who laughed even harder at their antics._

 _They were rivals and the best of friends after all._

~:~

"We fell asleep on his lap, but when we woke up, Itachi was talking to Shisui," Saki finished explaining. "We all knew each other, even if Naruto was only a little familiar to Itachi."

"Saki, I think you should tell them," Naruto said, catching their attention. Gaara, who was unfamiliar with the ninja Shisui, had looked over at Saki's mention of Itachi. Most people knew of the massacre, after all, even if they lived as a hermit on top of a mountain with zero entertainment but the bugs. An entire Kekkei Genkai line pretty much wiped out? That was obviously spread to even the highest mountain.

Saki sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She adjusted her nerdy glasses. "The reason I kept the Uchiha name, despite my banishment after that because I hurt my mother with my Sharingan - let's just say that when activated, the Sharingan introduces a lot of hate the first few times it's used - I am betrothed to Uchiha Itachi, the killer of my clan. And until his death, I am still obligated to marry him."

A moment of silence.

"Well, that's..." Kiba, ever insensitive, spoke up. "That sucks. I'm sorry, Saki."

Saki shrugged. "Doesn't matter, now, does it? If Itachi dies, I'm going to have to get married to Sasuke if he's _officially_ returned to Konoha services. However, if I left Konoha, I would be free from my duty as an Uchiha."

Naruto leaned forward as they all looked confused, and in a loud whisper, said, "She has to get pregnant by either Sasuke or Itachi."

Saki slapped the back of her head.

"Itai!"

"Don't gossip!" Saki glared at Naruto.

Naruto held her head. "I only told them because if Itachi comes after me and you're with me, he could kill you."

Saki shrugged. "He killed my mom, my aunt - everyone I actually cared about. I don't care if he kills me, too."

She stood up and went into her room.

Naruto swallowed as the others looked to her.

"The Akatsuki are after me," she finally said. "It's Uchiha Itachi, to be specific. And a fish guy. Don't know his name, I didn't really pay attention."

"And is Sasori part of this organization?" Shikamaru asked Gaara.

Gaara nodded. "That is what Orochimaru said during one of his rages, when Father allowed him free reign in the Suna forces."

"So that would mean Deidara is one of them," Naruto frowned.

"And if Sasori's after you, and Itachi is after you, it might mean that they will try to capture you," Shikamaru said, sitting back down on one of the beds. "This is bad news. Really bad news."

"You're telling me," Naruto chuckled. "Look, we'll come back to Suna with Gaara, and we'll discuss it then. Right now, I want to go to sleep, start our mission in the morning, and hopefully be back before the month ends. After that, we'll figure out what we're doing, okay?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Sounds like a plan that won't work, but fine."

Naruto facepalmed as Shikamaru left. She turned to Gaara. "You should probably get some sleep, too."

"Are you not going in the same room as -"

Naruto transformed to her male self. "Night," he said, laying down and pulling the covers over himself. "Unless you want to share a bed, Gaara."

Gaara slowly slipped in the bed. "You know I can't sleep."

"I forgot," Naruto replied breezily. "Night, guys. Turn off the light when you're done."

He dropped off to sleep rather quickly, and the light was turned off soon afterwards as the others settled down for the night.


	28. 28

**Alright, so... It's more like a Gaara/Naruto/Neji thing. BUT WAIT, BEFORE YOU LEAVE! Gaara/Naruto is only because of random political stuff I needed to throw in here. What does that mean? Well... Gaara/Naruto does happen, but it's more brief than Naruto/Neji. NO, Gaara doesn't die. I just mean that Gaara/Naruto DOES NOT get much screen time even though it IS mentioned. And this won't happen for a WHILE yet.**

 **That's why I was doing the poll.**

 **Okay, onto something else - I have a blog, and I have started writing down what I will post and when. Links don't work on my profile, so here goes: lolangez. blogspot. com.**

 **Remove the spaces and ignore the last period, there you go. It's my fanfiction blog. Check it out if you're a fan of this story, because I already have a picture of what I imagine Naruto's first wedding kimono to be like and the Uzukage's hat. Neither picture I own, I simply edited a drawn version of the Hokage hat, a picture of which I found on Google. And yes, it is CLEARLY edited.**

 **All that aside, please enjoy this chapter. Happy New Year to everyone who celebrates it, and for those that don't... Er, happy new year? (I promise to add happy new year on January 28, the Chinese New Year. Well, if I post, anyway...)**

 **Without further ado, the chapter!**

 **(Konohamaru-kun: angelslaugh-senpai doesn't own Naruto, just a weirdo Uchiha named Saki. Why is Saki the s-**

 **angelslaugh: WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO SPOIL WHO SAKI IS?! WHO THE HECK INVITED YOU, KONOHAMARU?**

 **Changes!Naruto: I did. You're neglecting to tell _my_ story, I was bored. **

**angelslaugh: *thinking while looking up at the ceiling to act dramatic* _Why did I have to create you, Changes!Naruto?_**

 **Changes!Naruto: *whispers* because you have a twisted as hell mind!)**

 **~:~**

Well-rested, and Saki slightly moody from the night before, the group of five set out, sharing grins and laughter. Well, Neji was as silent as ever, but the point was he seemed content. Naruto tried, with zero results, to drag him into the conversation. Multiple times.

Even Saki was talking and chatting!

Well, until they reached a town. All laughter and happiness abruptly halted as the destruction before them met their eyes.

"This is..." Naruto's eyes flashed with barely concealed rage.

 **I can smell the scent of wood.**

Kurama's voice made Naruto shriek in surprise. At the looks from her companions at the girly cry, Naruto calmed down and told them.

"Kyuubi's finally awake." She paused. "And he says it smells like wood."

Saki's brow furrowed, and she opened the scroll Naruto had given her.

"If this is Kisanka Town, then this is the town that Mukade was last spotted in," she informed the group as a whole.

"Then Mukade has a lot more to answer for than Father said," Gaara said, clenching his fists and letting Killer Intent leak out. Naruto was pretty much unaffected by it, as was Saki.

Neji leaped forward and shoved his hands forward. A cracking sound filled the air.

"Genjutsu," Neji offered. "What my normal eyes see, my Byakugan pierces the veil."

Saki vanished from her spot.

"Saki? Saki!" Naruto was scared that Mukade had her friend -

"Oh, relax." Saki's slightly pained voice made Naruto turn and look at her. How the hell did Saki get from one place to another in the span of a second?! "I just used my Mangekyou." Saki was clutching her bleeding eye, which was in an odd pattern - well, not odd, exactly. Odd to be in an eye. It looked like a clock, with only 4 dots around the iris. "I basically slowed time down long enough for me to see what this place actually was. And it's the fallen city of Rouran."

"Someone is casting a wide-range genjutsu that only affects non-doujutsu users," Neji added.

Naruto nodded. _Kurama, mind if I use your chakra to blast it away?_

 **Not at all,** Kurama growled happily. **I don't even know how you were affected. You or that brainless fool Shukaku.**

Naruto hid her smile from Gaara. "Everyone move away from me. Now!"

Everyone did, and Naruto focused. But she couldn't use up all her chakra - it was almost impossible.

She sighed and opened her eyes, frustrated. The illusion was wavering, but she couldn't -

She had an idea. "Neji! Block my tenketsu!"

Neji's eyes widened. "Naruto - "

"I'm serious," Naruto interrupted him. "Just do it."

Neji nodded, then settled into the Jyuuken stance. Not warning her, he shot forward and slammed his hands into her tenketsu.

When he was done, Naruto coughed up some blood. She waved him away, then nodded.

"I can work with this."

She was kind of scared, to be honest - she could rip her chakra coils to shreds. But Kurama wasn't a demon for nothing... Well, she just hoped that if she did rip her coils he could heal them.

Kurama's chakra exploded out from her, blasting away the illusion. Gaara flinched, hate in his eyes for a single minute before everything was okay again with him.

(Of course, he wasn't okay, but he was fine for now. There was no telling what could happen later.)

"I think that's Mukade's puppets," Naruto panted, pointing at the person-shaped things in the doorway of the ruin. "Wow, you really should get some better-looking puppets." They vanished, and they all gaped for a minute. Genjutsu again.

"Who were you talking to?" Saki asked, glancing at her friend.

"Me, myself, and I," Naruto replied shortly.

"Did you get a concussion?" Saki asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Not today," Naruto answered truthfully.

"O-kay," Saki said after a moment. "Gaara, you seem to be at a disadvantage. Neji, we'll need you to distinguish between _genjutsu_ and non-genjutsu. Naruto, you use your sword and channel chakra into it, cutting the strings Neji sees. As soon as I see the real puppet master, I will put him in a _genjutsu_. Kiba, stay with Gaara, make sure the puppet man doesn't escape."

Kiba nodded shortly, and he moved to guard.

Naruto, Saki, and Neji darted to the building, and Naruto cut blindly, trusting Neji to tell her where to go.

She'd have to get lessons on using her sword in the dark...

 **Naruto, I'm going to blast the rest of the** ** _genjutsu_** **through the sword. Be ready.**

Naruto swallowed.

"The Kyuubi is going to take the rest of it down with his chakra," she said in a hushed voice.

Saki nodded.

Naruto held the blade out.

Kurama's chakra exploded, this time wiping away all the genjutsu instead of just half of it. Naruto blinked as it receded, back into the sword. The missing-nin had looked up, smirking. His sallow face did not lend credibility to the fact that he had lived in Suna at one point.

"Oh, smart children." He glanced at Naruto's red katana. "But you're too late."

He ripped off the seal that none of them had noticed.

Chakra exploded out.

And Naruto passed out as it did, feeling the power grow and pass over them.


	29. 29

**So now that the shock is out of the way, please! Enjoy this chapter! And with this, I'm going to bed!**

 **...possibly.**

 **Feel free to ask questions about the story, PM me if you _really want to know_ and can't wait if you're wondering about major plot points... Reviews are great, too! Thank you for reading so far!**

 **~angelslaugh**

~:~

Her limbs felt like she'd been dipped in acid, then run astray of a lightning jutsu. Every pore hurt, like she'd gone through a particularly painful Kyuubi transformation.

All in all, she was not feeling well when she woke up, and should be completely forgiven for throwing up on the shinobi's shoes in front of her.

"Ew, that's nasty," Saki's voice said. Naruto immediately gained a pounding headache and groaned as she collapsed, closing her eyes.

"She's exhausted. I'll take you to my camp for the night."

"...Even though she puked on your shoes?"

"Uchiha-san, shoes can be cleaned. The girl is obviously sick, and when we get to camp, our standby medic can tell us what's wrong with her."

"If you say so. Is my other friend safe there?"

"You can come and see," the second voice said. Naruto was picked up, and she had enough sense to turn her face away from the shinobi's outfit.

But all too soon, the young teen was fast asleep and her head was on the shinobi's outfit.

~:~

"...nothing serious, just chakra overload. She should be coming around any minute, -ttebane," a familiar voice hit Naruto's ears. Of course, she'd heard this voice before, inside her own chakra. Her mother, the one who had told her how to release her chains, was sitting close to her.

Naruto opened her eyes. She still felt like she was going to throw up, but the headache had eased.

She stared around the camp.

"Saki?"

Saki jumped. "Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto kept her tone even. "Where am I?"

"Just outside Rouran, twenty years or so in the past," Saki said, still cheerful.

"Saki?"

Saki twitched. "...Yes?"

"Is this real?" Naruto was sure that her voice wavered.

"Yes, you moron!" Saki slapped the back of her head. "It's real, jeez. Believe me, I was freaking out a little, too. But look!" Saki yanked Naruto's head around. "It's Hatake Kakashi, miniaturized!"

Said miniature stared at them impassively.

Naruto couldn't help herself. She swept the kid version of her sensei in a hug and squeezed him.

"SO KAWAII!"

"She likes cute things," Saki muttered out loud. "And look, it's my cousin! Obito!"

Naruto froze, poor Kakashi still in her arms, then looked at the Uchiha wearing the goggles... And dropped Kakashi, hugging the Uchiha.

Not five minutes later and Naruto was nursing a bump given to her by none other than an irked Neji.

"Talk about spousal abuse," an amused-looking Saki said.

"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" Both Naruto and Neji yelled.

"As funny as this is," Naruto's amused almost-father said, "This doesn't quite help matters."

Naruto sobered up quickly.

"He has a good point," she nodded, going for her sword to check that it was still there - only to panic and reach for it once more. "My katana!"

"You must have dropped it," Saki said quietly.

Naruto scowled. "It's possible," she reluctantly agreed. "Or the Ryuumyaku didn't let it in."

"That is more probable," Neji replied. He activated his Byakugan. "I can see chakra strings all over the city," he said after a moment. "Too bad we have no weapons to cut them with."

Minato coughed. "We do, actually."

Naruto had a thought. "Why are you taking this so calmly?"

Minato smiled. "Because I don't think you three could manage a solid lie when you were unconscious, or close to it, when I found you; your Hyuuga friend was saving the princess' life, and your Uchiha friend was hanging from one of the Ryuumyaku pipes on nothing but a single piece of frayed ninja wire."

There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry about the shoes," Naruto winced after a moment.

"I cleaned them while Kushina was diagnosing you," Minato replied with a placid smile.

Naruto frowned and turned to her.

"How are you able to do that?" she asked her almost-mother. "Especially with the Kyuubi in you!"

Kushina froze. "How did you know that?" she asked suspiciously.

Naruto hesitated, then sighed.

"Because the Kyuubi told me," she admitted.

Kushina stared at her.

"You're a jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, too? Why? Did I die?"

Naruto looked away, keeping her lips pressed together.

There was a silence.

"I see," Kushina said, sounding shaken.

Naruto looked up at her. "It was for a great cause... I think! No, I'm pretty sure!" She smiled at Kushina, and she hoped her smile wasn't as wavering as she thought it was. It was almost physically painful to see Kushina sitting there with Minato, so calm. "I'm going to go... Go," Naruto added, standing up and walking a little ways out of the camp.

She sat down and started to meditate. Hey, she wanted the quiet, and Kurama was sleeping, the lazy bijuu.

It wasn't long before she heard approaching footsteps, and smelled a scent that she'd never smelled before. Kurama probably had, but... Not Naruto. So it was probably Obito.

"Mind if I sit next to you?" Yep, definitely Obito.

"No, of course not," Naruto replied. "It's a free space."

He sat down.

"Are you related to Kushina-san?"

Naruto opened her eyes, the moon's pearly rays shining down on them.

"I am." She looked over to the boy. "You're related to Saki, aren't you?"

Obito snorted. "All Uchiha are related in some way."

Naruto curled her nose. "That's disgusting!"

Obito's eyes popped out. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that! I meant we're all distantly related, like fifth cousins twelve times removed!"

Naruto sweatdropped. "You suck at explaining things."

"Then you explain your relation to Kushina-san!" Obito ordered.

"She's my mother," Naruto deadpanned.

Obito went quiet. "Oh. So... You know her then?"

Naruto shook her head, hugging her knees. "No. I grew up as an orphan." At his look, she explained further. "They died the day I was born."

His face transformed into pity.

"Don't pity me," Naruto snapped, looking away from him.

"I'm sorry, though," he told her. "I got to enjoy a few years with my parents. I don't remember them that much. I bet you've suffered a lot, huh?"

Naruto's lips twisted into a bitter smile.

"Yeah, you could say that," she replied, looking up at the moon. The wind blew, lifting Naruto's free hair and letting it dance in the wind. "Sorry about the hugging - I can't help but hug cute things."

"It's fine," Obito replied. "Kakashi's nine. I'm thirteen, though, so please don't do it again."

Naruto snorted. "I'm fourteen!" she cheered. But then his statement about Kakashi rang in her mind. "HE'S NINE?!"

"He graduated the Academy when he was five," Obito said, tilting his head curiously. "Made Chuunin at six."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. _My sensei is nine right now. NINE._

Kurama shifted, opening his eyes.

 **You always knew he was a genius.**

 _I didn't know he was five when he graduated the Academy!_

Kurama snorted. **You should have asked him then.**

 _He probably would have deflected,_ Naruto retorted.

Kurama sniffed. **That scent... Is the one that I was controlled by!**

Naruto could feel his anger, but she wouldn't let him hurt Obito.

 _Kurama, we can't change time! We do that, all that we've done probably won't matter!_

 **If I kill him now -**

 _YOU WILL NOT KILL HIM, KURAMA. Unless you want me to kill us both!_

There was a pause, and Naruto gasped, sweat pouring off of her face.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were really struggling for a minute there," Obito said, concern in his voice.

"Fine," Naruto said, laying back to look at the stars.

"Do I survive in the future?"

Naruto wished she could lie. But she knew she couldn't. After all, all of her father's team died, except for Kakashi.

"No," she answered softly. "Kakashi's the only one I know of that does. He's my sensei - former sensei - ugh, I don't even know anymore."

"Bakashi is a sensei?!" squeaked Obito.

Naruto was glad he didn't focus on the fact he didn't survive.

Naruto grinned mischievously. Better give her sensei's dead teammate some ammo.

"Yeah, he reads porn in front of us, too," she smirked. Obito's face turned even more horrified.

"HE TURNED TO PORN?!"


	30. 30

**So the arcs are only a few chapters... Long-ish chapters, but a few chapters nonetheless. I do have to say this: There WILL be CANON deaths in this story. Just pointing that out.**

 **(Itachi-sama: angelslaugh-chan doesn't own anyone but Saki, who is S -**

 **angelslaugh: ITACHI!**

 **Itachi-sama: -hinku Dawn Hina-Ichigo in disguise.**

 **angelslaugh: Hahahahahaha. No. This is NOT a Rozen Maiden crossover. Questions are welcome~)**

~:~

Obito's exclamation drew the attention of the other members at the camp, where tension was very high.

At the yell, though, Saki snorted and Neji went a little pink.

"Who did?" Kakashi and Minato asked at the same time.

"Ah, nobody," Saki lied. Saki was a horrible liar.

"It's Genma-san," Neji said smoothly.

Saki turned to him. "I thought it was Raidou-san that turned into the pervert!"

"You've never heard Genma-san inside a pub. Gai-sensei has," Neji replied.

"That loser made it as a shinobi?" Kakashi asked, his charcoal eyes wide.

"Please don't insult my sensei," Neji requested, closing his eyes. "Other than you, Kakashi-san, he is the best sensei in Konoha."

"I'm a sensei?" Kakashi asked, lost.

"What about me?" Minato questioned.

Both Saki and Neji fell quite silent.

"Ah," Minato said after a moment.

"You're remembered," Saki said with a smile. "And I really am glad to meet you in person. You're my hero - and Naruto's."

"Saki," Neji said quietly, then whispered something in her ear.

A look of realization passed over Saki's face.

"You're -"

Neji elbowed her.

Saki gasped. "Okay - won't say!" she wheezed.

"We can't change history," Neji said in an apologetic way. "Anyway, is there any way we can help you keep the princess safe?"

Minato glanced at Kushina.

"There might be," he said reluctantly. "We can separate into groups of two, and I can go by myself, but perhaps Neji-san could go with Kakashi-kun, and Saki-san -"

"Saki-chan, please," Saki smiled.

"- Saki-chan can go with Kushina. Naruto-san can go with Obito-kun."

"Of course," Neji nodded. "You probably want them to keep an eye on us, correct? Seeing as the only Konoha ninja is Saki and we're only Konoha affiliated."

"Naruto would never do something to harm Konoha!" Saki objected, her eyes spinning into their menacing Sharingan that obviously startled Minato, as he reached for his kunai simply out of reflex.

"Saki, we claim to be in the past with nothing but -" Neji stopped. Then he looked directly at Kushina. "Naruto would never do anything to harm Konoha because she is the last Konoha-affiliated Uzumaki." His words stunned the group. "But even so, I believe Minato-sama is correct: Watching us would do no harm if we don't do anything suspicious. You, Saki, scream suspicious because you actually tolerate my presence."

"Che, Uchiha vs Hyuuga, who cares?" grumbled Saki. "Fine, I won't be angry."

But it was clear she was.

~:~

As the dawn lighted the sky, they all set off in pairs. Naruto and Obito got along like a house on fire (which was alarming in several ways). Neji and Kakashi barely acknowledged each other, and Saki looked up to Kushina like she was the best thing ever as Kushina put her hair up, then put Naruto's long hair up after reprimanding the younger teen to keep her hair up at all times.

"Let's go," Minato ordered, and the pairs vanished.

~"~

The city was alive; that was Naruto's first impression. Her second, upon a closer look, made her lip curl and made her shudder in disgust.

"What is it?" Obito questioned.

Naruto pointed down at the civilians. Obito peered down, through his goggles, and sighed. "Yeah, and?" he asked.

"They're not humans," Naruto snapped. "They're puppets."

Obito took the goggles off. "Oh, I see now," he said to her, his eyes widening in comprehension. "And the chakra strings are..." He took out a blade with the Leaf symbol on it, and channeled chakra to it. Carefully, he leaned out, and chakra started spreading all over the city. Not just a select few of these 'civilians' were puppets; all of them were.

"We need to get to the princess," Naruto said urgently. It would have been great to have Shikamaru here, but nope. He wasn't.

"Right!"

Obito sheathed the chakra blade, and both Naruto and Obito darted up the pipes.

Making their way to the big palatial building, the Uzumaki and the Uchiha darted in, sticking with the shadows, to enter the throne room.

"I am terrified, Anrokuzan! What if someone tries to push me off like they did yesterday?"

"You are so naive," the pale, fat guy said to the princess.

Naruto gaped at the pale figure.

"He got big," she murmured to Obito, who frowned at her. She noticed. "What? He's a missing-nin. I don't have to be polite when speaking about him, do I?"

Obito rolled his eyes.

Naruto took a deep breath, and leaped into the room.

"Oi, Mukade!" she grinned easily. "Miss me?"

The missing-nin scowled at her.

"You!" he shouted. "You will not get in my way this time!"

"I didn't get in your way last time," Naruto frowned.

"Where's your blonde companion?"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. She didn't look like her mother, did she?

"Oh, wait! You're the child from six years ago!" The pale guy snapped his fingers and a bunch of puppets appeared, attacking Naruto, who stared at them with calmness. Then, she summoned hundreds of clones, and they attacked the puppets.

Then she carelessly summoned a lot more, and they formed Rasengans. But the Rasengans grew in size, and consumed a lot of her chakra.

The teenage jinchuuriki exploded forward again, the wave of clones following. The puppets were shredded - and as the smoke cleared, Mukade was gone.

~:~

Obito glanced at his current partner. She was hiding something from him, hiding her arm.

"Can I see it?" he asked her, concerned for her health.

She nodded, and withdrew her fingers.

Obito recoiled as he gazed at her stump.

"...your arm..."

"Eh, it's fine. It just hurts a lot," Naruto waved his concern away. "Let's go fight the missing ninja." She took a deep breath and jumped out of the tower, ignoring the princess.

Obito followed her. For a normal human, it was a lethal jump. For ninja, it was just a cliff.

Plus, ninja could walk on walls.

~:~

"Naruto!" Saki looked at her friend, her Sharingan active. "Why did you lose an arm?!"

"I did something stupid, but that's par the course for me, isn't it?" Naruto beamed, obviously trying to escape her worries.

Obito eyed the Hyuuga, whose attention was on her arm.

"It's repairing itself," he said, looking surprised.

Kushina grinned and tugged Naruto next to her, brushing the separated limb with her side and making Naruto go pale white. "That's because the Kyuubi's a demon, after all, and not likely to let his host go without a limb."

"Kushina-san, I think you're hurting her," Obito said, making Kushina take notice of the pained pale teen.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" gushed Kushina. "But it should be healing faster - why isn't -"

Naruto looked away. "I... Only have half the Kyuubi inside me. The other half's in the Shinigami's stomach, so don't worry," she added hastily at the other woman. But then there was that rage in her eyes, and Obito saw them go red before Naruto's face was turned away.

She'd seemed angry about something - or was it the Kyuubi?

"Naruto, don't you have control over it?" Kushina asked cautiously.

Naruto turned to her, aqua eyes flashing.

"Of course I do!" she cried indignantly. "But he isn't calm around Uchihas... Unless they're Saki, because Saki is Saki, and he doesn't like you, so of course I'll slip a few times." She looked like she regretted the statement as Kushina's eyebrow rose. Naruto blushed and cleared her throat. "Anyway! Let's do this!"

She grabbed Obito's hand and tugged him forward.

Obito yelped. "Oi! What are you doing?!"

"Taking you to fight a missing-nin, that's what! Battlefield experience, nothing like it!"

"But -"

"Come on!"


	31. 31

"She has nothing against you," Saki mentioned upon the teams' separation from Minato. Kushina frowned at her.

"Then why does she look at like me like I'm a foreign object to her?! I should've died years after I met her, if she's an Uzumaki!"

Saki stopped in her tracks and rummaged in her backpack she always seemed to have with her.

"Is it... Yes!" She brought out a picture and showed it to the redheaded woman. "That was before she got banished from Konoha."

Kushina stared at the picture. A blonde-haired child stood in the picture, looking quite like a boy with short, Minato-like hair. Blue eyes gleamed in the picture, and a smile showed clearly beneath whisker-marked cheeks.

Blue eyes... Uzumaki... Red hair...

"Uzumaki." Kushina was the last Uzumaki in Konoha. "She grew up an orphan?"

Saki nodded, examining her.

Kushina put a hand to her mouth, horrified. "She's... My daughter? Mine and Minato's?" She honestly couldn't imagine marrying Minato, let alone having a child with him - not that she didn't like him, but - Minato hadn't shown any interest in her for ages! She'd had Hizashi's affections to contend with instead!

Something awful bubbled in Kushina's stomach.

Her daughter had grown up, parentless, because she had married and had a child with Minato.

"You can't change the future," Saki said, shaking Kushina out of it. "Naruto, I think, knows this. That's why she's stopping Kyuubi from killing Obito, I think."

Kushina collapsed on her knees. She felt an unholy glee in her and knew it came from the Kyuubi.

 _What do I do?_

She didn't want her only child to grow up, alone and unwanted. If she could -

"You change time, and it will create such a paradox that this entire universe might destroy itself," Saki hissed at the redheaded woman, Sharingan flaring in her agitation. "Not to mention Naruto's rage when she finds out I told you. Gah! I wasn't supposed to say anything!" The blackette yanked her black hair.

Kushina looked at Saki. "Why not? She's my daughter."

"You died the night she was born!" the blackette shrieked at her.

 _Oh..._ Kushina groaned and put her hands over her eyes. _Oh, dear._

 _One half of the Kyuubi is in the Shinigami's stomach._

" _Fuck_ ," Kushina said dismally. "I die because of the Kyuubi's extraction."

Saki shrugged. "Who knows? Well, I think Naruto might know; but I have never asked." At Kushina's questioning look, Saki shrugged. "Naruto helped me become Chuunin and a ninja; I ain't gonna pry into her when she doesn't pry into my business."

"What about your parents?" Kushina blurted. She looked like Mikoto, after all; it could be -

"Dead. Itachi killed the entire clan apart from me, Sasuke, and himself."

She said it as though having your clan slaughtered was one of the most natural things in the world. But Kushina sympathized; she recalled the destruction of her own home, Uzushio, and knew just how it felt.

How painful it was to go home to an empty compound, to find ninja sliding in and trying to take advantage of her status as the last Uzumaki in Konoha.

Kushina didn't know of any survivors.

She tugged Saki in a hug.

"I am so, so sorry," she whispered in a genuinely sad tone.

Saki didn't use sarcasm to speak back. She merely hugged Kushina back.

And then the moment was lost when a puppet exploded and fell at their feet.

~:~

Neji didn't really care for Kakashi's atitude. No wonder he'd joined ANBU. He was an asshole. An even bigger asshole than Neji had been, and that was saying something.

"It doesn't matter if you have a doujutsu," Kakashi informed him loftily. "Or older that I. I am a Chuunin."

 _I'm going to maim Kakashi-sensei when I see him,_ Neji thought desperately as he looked and cut several wires with a chakra-enhanced kunai. _Jyuuken his balls off, unless he has a reason for keeping them._

He used an Air Palm to blast the idiot genius away from an incoming puppet, and said idiot genius turned furious dark eyes on him.

As the Chuunin started ranting on how he wanted to die as a shinobi, Neji slammed a fist in his head, knocking him out cold.

He made sure to conserve his chakra, and only activated his Byakugan every few minutes while destroying puppets that dared come near him. The fifteen-year-old ignored the unconscious body of the nine-year-old behind him.

~:~

"Do I ever activate my Sharingan?" Obito asked in the middle of destroying puppets.

"Um... I think? I don't... Ah, yeah, you do!" the other teen called back.

"Sweet!"

"But I think you die not long after getting it, so..."

"I don't care! I activate my Sharingan!" Obito was happier. Half of the destroyed part of the older future teen's arm had come back; not that the teen in question cared. Yellow chakra acted as her arm, receding with every inch she healed. None of her current cuts healed yet; Obito was just going to assume that the healing power was going to her arm. "How are we going to fully get rid of this guy?" he asked, jumping and avoiding a slash.

"...Know any katon jutsu you can teach me the handsigns to?"

Obito grinned almost evilly, and quickly coaxed her through the handsigns for the Uchiha's signature Great Fireball technique.

She placed her fingers in those symbols, and then blew out.

Out came the largest fireball Obito had ever seen, burning a path through the puppets. His eyes watered even behind his goggles, and one of the puppets fell and exploded.

Saki appeared, looking fresh and ready, her glasses being fixed to her face quickly.

"Fireballs?" she asked Obito with a grin, and he matched it.

"Kushina-san, you know the fireball technique, right?"

In unison, the group did the handsigns and spewed giant fireballs from their mouths.

And, quite quickly, the enemy was reduced to naught but ash.


	32. 32

"I really must thank you," Sara insisted. "Before you seal it away, please. Enjoy a night of feasting and celebration."

"Which means an added couple of days staying here, huh?" Obito grinned. "Good thing you sent for Rin before the time-travelers got here; she'll be able to help with the healing."

Naruto perked up. "Does that mean we'll be able to stay for now?" she asked eagerly.

Minato sweatdropped at the time travelers' countenances. They were too eager to stay, even Naruto was overeager.

But from what he'd gathered by watching her with Obito, she was usually like that.

Saki dropped something, and Minato's eyes automatically went to it. It was a photo.

"Oh, damn."

Naruto was frozen, staring at the photo.

It was obviously a photo that was taken with her and two other kids completely unaware of it. But she was blonde and looked quite like a guy. Her companions were a pinkette, who was laughing with her eyes closed, and an Uchiha who looked like he was trying not to smile.

"Saki. How did you get that picture?" Naruto's question was puzzled.

"Because we never really spoke," Saki said, picking it up. "Plus, I had to keep an eye on Sasuke."

"That's my youngest cousin?" Obito asked, staring at Sasuke. "He looks constipated."

Neji snorted as he walked up with an unconscious Kakashi.

"What happened to my student?" Minato asked, tilting his head.

"Officially, I would say that a stray bit of puppet knocked him out," the Hyuuga said blandly.

"Unofficially?" Minato asked, trying not to smirk.

"I knocked him out because he was being a bigger asshole than I ever have been."

Naruto gasped, taking her eyes off the picture and looking at Neji in mock amazement. "So there's finally someone with a bigger ego than you?! Astounding! Marvelous! Ama -"

"Please, shut up now," Neji requested. Then he paused and cleared his throat. "If we're staying here, do you want to go to the celebration with me?"

Naruto blinked at him.

"Sure," she said. "But we're all going together, right?"

Everyone except Saki facefaulted.

Saki leaned over and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like 'he's asking you on a date, moron!'.

"Oh," Naruto said, eyes wide, a blush dusting her cheeks. She scuffed her sandals against the ground. "Uh, sure, Neji. I'd love to go with you."

Neji smiled, pleased.

~:~

Nohara Rin eyed her sensei, Kushina-san, and Inoichi-san, the ninja who had volunteered to escort her to her team.

Her entire team had been acting oddly. First of all, Kushina got a pensive look on her face every time she looked at Minato, who was gazing vacantly on a piece of paper he was dripping ink all over. Then Obito had his goggles off and muttering to himself, and Kakashi... Was in the bathroom, throwing up for some reason.

"Uh..." Rin's voice caught their attention. "Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Time travelers," offered Kushina. "And I'm not kidding, they're on the floor above us."

Rin could hear them, but chose to ignore them for now.

"Rin! You're here!" Obito looked pleased, and Rin smiled at him brightly.

"What happened to Kakashi?" she whispered to him.

Obito grinned. "Officially, a stray bit of puppet hit him in the head. He's got a concussion, so he won't be joining the celebration tonight." He took her hand and walked to the closet. "Queen Sara said you can chose any of these kimonos or yukatas for the celebration tonight. Tomorrow's the last day we'll be here and it'll be a working day."

Rin smiled. "Oh, thank you, Obito," she said sincerely.

Obito blushed. "Ah, don't mention it." He rubbed the back of his head.

A thud upstairs.

"WEAR IT, NARUTO!"

"FUCK YOU, SAKI! I AIN'T WEARING IT!"

"NEJI WILL BE BACK ANY MINUTE, NOW PUT THE DAMN THING ON!"

"I HATE THE COLOR GRAY, I'M NOT WEARING IT!"

Rin sweatdropped.

"They're nice," Obito said with a nervous chuckle.

"I'll take your word for it," Rin smiled at him.

~:~

Naruto glared at Saki, who smirked at her. After putting on the stupid yukata, it was revealed to be a blood red yukata that had black rose petals decorating it with separating sleeves so her shoulders stuck out. Saki had put a genjutsu on it, and since Kurama was still putting the finishing touches on her arm, she had to deal with not being immune to genjutsu.

"You didn't have to put me under genjutsu to get me to wear it," Naruto said to her friend.

"Yeah, well, it was funny." They exited the room, and Neji stood there, wearing a midnight blue yukata with waves at the bottom of it.

Naruto blushed. Midnight blue really worked for him.

They joined the other team, who stared at Naruto and Saki (who wore a lavender one with even lighter butterflies over it).

Naruto blinked at Kushina's plain black yukata and Minato's plain dark blue one.

"You guys are boring," she said flatly. She went on to see Rin wearing a light red yukata with sakura petals near the bottom; and Obito, wearing a yukata that was also navy blue. But his was plain as well.

"Your arm! It's back!" Obito said, staring at her arm.

Naruto scowled. "Mostly, yes." Her fingers were still tiny, though, and it was an odd sight for her. She fed golden chakra to them, not liking the feeling of it - but she staggered into Neji, feeling suddenly exhausted.

"Are you alright?" Neji questioned?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm good enough." She straightened and gave the others a brilliant smile. "You must be Rin!" she skipped over to the other group and shook Rin's hand. "It's amazing to meet you, it really is."

Rin grinned. "It's nice to meet you," she said shyly.


	33. 33

KONOHA (Naruto's time)

Tsunade was looking through all of Danzou's items. His death had caused a young boy with no name to step up and speak to her.

Of course she was pissed when it came to light, what the darkness of her village had done. To think he'd been right outside Konoha this entire time!

She tensed as she read a particular statement. She stood up and slammed her hand on the desk. "Gama, Oni - get the boy who came forward and his partner! At once!"

The two bowed.

The entire assembled forces of Root were in lockdown in their facility.

Right before the duo flickered away, Tsunade stopped them.

"Forget it. I won't risk anyone else fleeing. I'll go to the facility, instead. Shizune! You'll overlook the mission sending!"

Shizune stuttered out a 'yes, Lady Tsunade' and was behind the large desk. Tsunade took the small book she was reading the papers out of and carried it with her as Gama and Oni walked her to her destination.

~"~

The nameless boy was thin and pale. Like paper-white. His black hair and eyes made him look even paler; his black clothes didn't lend him any color.

"Do you have a name you went by in missions?" Tsunade asked the boy.

The boy smiled fakely. "Danzou-sama changed them every time. The latest name was Sai."

"Okay, may I address you as Sai, or do you prefer something else?"

The black-haired boy looked at her blankly.

"Are you asking me what I want to be called?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Sai is fine."

Tsunade smiled. She was getting somewhere with this boy.

"I don't know a cure for your partner," she began. "The best thing I can do is ask one of my own subordinates if it's possible to heal someone. However, before I ask this of her, I need to know about 'Operation Kitsune'."

Sai straightened.

"To destroy the weak inside the village, the Kyuubi was to be released and its fury controlled by Danzou."

Tsunade's jaw dropped.

"How? How can he control the Kyuubi?" Tsunade asked urgently.

"The Sharingan implanted in his arm," the boy said, sounding puzzled. "And his right eye."

Tsunade nodded and stood. "Oni, send a message to Naruto at once that I would like to ask her opinion on something in person. Gama, tell the Intel division I need the scroll keeping Shimura's body in stasis; also, inform them I need an autopsy report yesterday."

The two ANBU nodded and vanished. Tsunade could handle herself; but there were ANBU in here, undetectable to anyone other than Tsunade herself.

"Sai." Sai looked up at her. "Does your partner have a name?"

Sai hesitated.

"Shin," he said after a long silence.

Tsunade nodded. "Take me to him. I'll do all I can."

Sai nodded and stood.

They walked through the forbidding halls of the Ne ANBU HQ.

They stopped at a cell - for all their rooms were cells - with a coughing kid.

"Shin."

The boy had light blue hair and was far more tanned than Sai.

"Hokage-sama's here to heal you."

"Nothing can heal me," Shin dismissed.

"Let me decide that, gaki," she ordered. Then she opened the cell with her chakra, and stepped in. Sai stayed out, keeping the door open.

Green chakra lighted on her hands, and she frowned at the kid's system.

"It's advanced, certainly," she admitted reluctantly. "Like I said, I don't think I can heal it completely. Not even I have that power. But -"

"Demon chakra might?" Sai asked innocently.

Tsunade grinned. "Yes, Sai. I think so."

She healed as much of the damage as she could, and it was clear he was already feeling quite better.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Shin gasped.

"Tch. Don't thank me, I do what I can." She stood. "I have more questions," she told Sai, but to soothe the abruptness of the words, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "But they can wait." She gave him a soft smile. Then she called, "Tora!"

Tora appeared.

"Use my account and buy proper beds for all of these 'Ne'. They deserve far more than what they're getting. Also, if you have to, force it on them," she added dryly. She looked around at the faces of the 'Ne' ninja looking down at her, non-expressions on their faces. "Seriously, they'll need a lot of work," she sighed.

~:~

ROURAN (With Naruto)

Naruto was pleasantly full when the most delicious scent appeared. She sat up in her seat as the final course was given, a bowl of ramen to everyone who wanted one. Quickly, Naruto grabbed one, and she started to cry.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Neji asked, looking concerned.

"I've not had ramen since *sniff* I left Konoha, -ttebayo!" she wept. "Itadakimasu!"

She drank some of the broth first... And then she was done, setting her chopsticks down, right as most people were getting their second bite.

"Another, please!"

Heads swiveled down to look as Naruto got another bowl... And another...

Five bowls were gone before everyone recalled they had their own to eat, even as Naruto got yet another.

Obito matched her.

It was the start of the strangest contest ever. The shinobi, well-used to the fact that they were shinobi and could probably literally swallow a sword without dying (nobody would try it as they weren't idiots), stared in varying looks of disgust as Naruto slurped down many bowls of ramen, Obito not far behind her.

"Ugh, how weird," a random civilian said.

"How gross," another said. But they were now all watching in disgusted fascination, wondering who would win -

"I'm done," Naruto groaned after her twentieth bowl.

"I can't eat another bite," Obito said sulkily after his seventeenth.

"You two are idiots," Neji sighed, despairing.


	34. 34

Naruto hugged her parents, for the first time hugging flesh-and-blood and not chakra constructs. It was probably awkward, but Minato hugged her hard.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled.

"No matter what, I will never leave you," Kushina whispered as she hugged her, pushing more chakra into Naruto. Her own chakra.

Naruto hugged her fiercely.

She hugged Rin, having gotten to know her. "I'm glad to have met you," Naruto said to her. "Keep Kakashi in line, kay?" she smiled at Rin, but it was sad, too. Rin's smile faltered, but it came back and Rin hugged her.

"I'll do what I can," Rin smiled. Naruto leaned in one more time and whispered something to Rin, and Rin went pink before nodding, an embarrassed sort of smile on Rin. Then Naruto turned to Inoichi.

Naruto bowed at Inoichi. "You know, I can see your child in you," she said after a moment, startling him for a minute.

Then she turned to her cute sensei and glomped him again.

"Why?" Kakashi muttered.

"Because you're cute, and I'll never be able to do that again," Naruto replied instantly after letting him go. Saki was hugging Kushina.

Naruto's final goodbye - Obito. She almost didn't say goodbye, but... She knew she had to say it. Because she'd been with her mother all her life; and she'd known what her father had done for her.

She hugged him, and for a long moment didn't let go. She whispered three words in his ears as Minato finished the seal to the Ryuumyaku, to seal it off completely, and she stepped back, her bag on her shoulder.

Her calm aqua eyes met his wide charcoal eyes as she started to glow.

And without any fanfare, she, Neji, and Saki all vanished.

~:~

KONOHA (With Obito and his Team 7)

Minato chuckled at his team. "Settle down, you guys!" He smiled at the new jounin of the team. "Congratulations, Kakashi! I got you something." He gave his student a kunai, one of his best kunai.

"Thank you, sensei," Kakashi said, looking wary of the kunai, but accepting it.

Rin smirked. "It was an idea from N-chan," she giggled, presenting him with an orange book as well as a medical kit. Kakashi stared at the orange book with his eyes wide. His mask had slid down, meaning he was probably gaping like an idiot.

Obito snickered at Kakashi's priceless expression, knowing that when Naruto returned to the land of the living he'd have a _lot_ of blackmail material to throw at Kakashi. Rin giggled with him.

The book was 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

That snicker was cut short as Kakashi tucked it in his bag and turned to him, face inscrutable, palm out.

"I didn't get you anything!" Obito scowled. So what? He'd forgotten. He'd think of something later.

~"~

"You... Can have my Sharingan," Obito said, making Kakashi pause, and Rin gasped. "As your jounin present."

"I don't want it! I want you!" Kakashi cried. "I don't want your eye; I want you alive!" he told Obito, his lone eye starting to water.

"Don't get sentimental on me now," Obito wheezed. "Take my damn eye and read that book with it."

Kakashi actually stopped crying. "HOW CAN YOU JOKE LIKE THAT WHEN YOU'RE DYING IN FRONT OF ME?!"

"TAKE MY DAMN EYE, OR ELSE I'LL PUT YOU IN A GENJUTSU AND MAKE RIN TRANSPLANT IT!" Obito screamed back at him, meaning it and his non-crushed eye welled with tears that Obito furiously blinked away.

Kakashi finally relented, and Kakashi looked at him with that red eye.

"Funny, I can see through it," Obito said quietly. "Protect Rin, Kakashi... Don't let her die." Kakashi's Sharingan cried, almost like both Obito and Kakashi were crying. "Go."

He tugged his hand out of Rin's.

Rin got up. "I'm sorry, Obito!"

"Don't cry, Rin," Obito murmured. "I don't want to see you cry..." His breath quieted, and Kakashi gathered his resolve. Before he left, he heard Obito say, "Let me see out of that eye, Kakashi..."

Kakashi sniffed, wiped his tears, and gathered Rin in his arms.

~:~

NOW (With Obito)

Obito jerked up into a sitting position on his bed in the Akatsuki headquarters. He stared at his ring for a moment, gazing at it. Wondering just why he'd dreamed of his team and -

He paused, going over to his chest of drawers, and rifled through it. He was certain that Sara had made them all take a photo and had sent them through runners before that mission that went awry - yes, there it was.

The photograph was framed. His own Team 7 photo was next to it, but he ignored it for the moment.

Sensei, he thought, staring at the yellow-haired man tugging the two redheads near him. It was obvious that they were family, now that he looked at it - Naruto was beaming, Kushina grinning, and Minato looking more happy than Obito had ever seen him.

Uchiha Saki stood in the photo, looking as eccentric as she could, her Sharingan eyes not visible; Kakashi stood next to her, looking bored of it all; Neji stood next to Naruto with a polite smile on his face.

Obito closed his eyes and thought. _What had she said to him? What?_ WHAT?

He thought back. They were all gathered around the Ryuumyaku, she hugged him -

Three words; none of them having 'love' in them, but there was a v - love, shove - no, there was an o there - forge?

He couldn't remember! Angry, he stalked out into the hallway, putting his mask on and bumping into Deidara.

"Tobi is sorry! Please forgive - mother _fucker_!"

Obito swirled out of there, noticing Deidara's shocked face.

Well, his entire world was tossed upside down in one night; a memory that Madara had shoved down deep inside of him had finally burst out. Finally.

He swirled into existence in the office of the Mizukage, where said genjutsu'd Kage was defending himself.

"Kai!" he ordered, releasing the genjutsu from the young Kage. "Shit! She's going to kill me!" Normally, he wouldn't be so worried or so damn hysterical, but really, Naruto had forgiven him for leading her parents to their deaths and he _needed to say sorry to Kakashi._ "Have you come to your senses? Have you? Damn it, answer me!"

He shook the young Kage, who glared at him.

"Yes, now unhand me!"

Obito took his hands off of him.

"...Where am I?" the Mizukage finally demanded. Oh, right. Ruthless murderer. Obito had killed the last Kage and made the current Kage... Kage.

"You're the leader of Kirigakure," Obito informed him. "Because I... Er. MayhavekilledyourpredecessorbecauseIneededabijuuundermycontrol."

"You... Did... What?" the Yondaime Mizukage spat.

"I. May. Have. Killed - do I _really_ need to say it again?! I killed your predecessor because I needed a bijuu under my control so I could capture you for the Akatsuki! I'm so sorry! Um... Stay away from the Akatsuki, because they're after you!" Obito cried, swirling back into his room. He quickly sucked up all his crap into his eye, then took off his cloak and made the ring melt through his body. Then he wrote a note and took his mask off, weighing the pros and cons.

 _No_ , he decided. _I don't need this anymore._

He let it fall onto the bed, faceup.

Then he swirled into nonexistence just as the Zetsus molded in, not seeing the last of his Kekkei Genkai fade.


	35. 35

**I got two questions that I probably should address. Both from _Guest:_**

 _What do you mean that "the last of Obito's Kekkei Genkai faded"!?_

 _And what was that Memory that Finally Surfaced!?_

 **You know how he goes all swirly when he's using his Mangekyou Sharingan? I meant 'when the last effects of using Obito's Kekkei Genkai faded'. Sorry for mixing that up. No, his Sharingan did not vanish, I simply put it in a way that nobody got that. Oops.**

 **And as for question 2, here's the answer: The entire Rouran thing is the memory he got back. Logically, it makes sense that he wouldn't remember until after it happened in Naruto's time, because without Naruto going back in time Naruto would not be there and Obito would not remember Naruto going there at all because she didn't. Make sense?**

 **And... I think that's it. Yep, so... Read and review please~**

 **(Kawaii!Kakashi: angelslaugh-san does not own Naruto. Only owning Saki.**

 **angelslaugh: *sweatdrops at Kakashi's monotone* Say it with a little more cheer next time, Kakashi-kun!)**

 **~angelslaugh**

~:~

Tsunade was talking to the senseis when Kakashi gasped, putting a hand up to his Sharingan eye.

"Need a minute?" Tsunade asked sarcastically.

"I think -"

What Kakashi thought was not heard, as Kakashi vanished into a swirling nothingness.

"...Well, shit."

~:~

Kakashi stared at him. Stared at him some more. Then Kakashi got on his knees and bowed.

Obito opened his mouth, but stopped upon seeing the tears.

"I couldn't protect her. I couldn't protect Rin."

Obito sighed.

"I don't hate you anymore, Kakashi. I remembered something a friend once said to me." He knelt and picked up his brother-figure. "I forgive you."

Kakashi stared at him with bewilderment.

"Who's ever said that to you?" he sniffed.

"FOR KAMI'S SAKE, JUST TAKE IT!" He yelled at his friend, slapping his head. "Jeez, just trying to _help_ , but _nooooo_ , you wonder who's ever said that to me. I'll have you know it was _Naruto_ who said it to me, you moron!"

"You've never -" Kakashi's eye widened. Looks like Obito hadn't been the only one to forget about that. Kakashi looked at his dresser from the Akatsuki with a bed and other stuff. "...You're _not_ staying in here for the rest of your life."

"But -"

"No buts. Look, I get it if you don't want to tell everyone you caused the Yondaime's death - which you'll have to tell Inoichi-san and Tsunade-sama anyway - but you can't stay in here. I'll ask my boyfriend if it's okay with him if I let you sleep on the couch."

"I thought you'd be top," Obito blurted.

Kakashi grinned, the only evidence the crinkling around the eyes. "I am," he said proudly. "But Iruka's scary, and... Well, enough said, you know."

Obito frowned. "I don't want to go out there - oh, and Saki-chan lied when she said Genma-san was the pervert."

Kakashi frowned... Then his eye lit up. "Really? Who was she talking about?" he asked, using his eye on both of them, Obito unaware of this.

"YOU, YOU MORON!"

And Obito hit him over the head and sent him to the floor... The very wooden floor in a very real office.

"BAKASHI, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

And Obito proceeded to throttle Kakashi, yelling at him for landing him in the Hokage office.

Kakashi choked, but slammed his head into Obito and then massaged his throat while the older man was dazed.

"Wait - you have two eyes? How'd you make that happen?" Kakashi wondered.

"Don't worry about it... I used an eye someone was transplanting."

"You stole an eye, Obito?! That's disgusting!"

"...you're disgusting, you - you disgusting..." Obito's head slumped. "Ah, fuck. I forgot what I was going to say."

There was a lull in the office, and a voice said, "Obito?"

Obito turned to smile, screamed in shock, and vanished behind Kakashi, eyeing the green beast that had said his name. For a minute, nobody said anything, and Obito frowned as something clicked.

"Maito Gai?"

He nodded, and instantly tears were pouring down Gai's face. "THIS IS THE MOST YOUTHFUL THING THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST CHALLENGE I HAD AGAINST KAKASHI, OR EVEN TRAINED WITH MY STUDENT LEE!"

Obito's eyes went wide and his face was horrified.

"Dear Kamis, please don't tell me there's another one."

"There's another one," Kakashi deadpanned. "I'll have you know, Neji-san was taught by him."

Obito facefaulted. "You've got to be kidding me!"

A book was thrown at Obito's head. Instantly sensing the threat, he let the book phase through him and crash against the wall.

"Kakashi." A strident female voice made everyone look to the office. "Who's the guy?"

"His name's Uchiha Obito, I thought he was dead -"

"She was talking about you being the pervert!" Obito blurted.

There was a pause.

Kakashi twitched. "She said that, did she?" His voice was abnormally calm.

"...Did Obito magically revive or something?" Yuuhi Kurenai asked.

"No, I wasn't dead to begin with," Obito said crossly. "I was picked up by some old dude who had a parasitic plant for a helper. No, Tsunade-sama, I'm not joking," the younger man said to the older woman. "And... I know it might sound crazy - batshit insane, in fact, but... The person who saved my life was none other than Uchiha Madara."

There was a stunned pause.

"Hold on." Tsunade flared her chakra and red seals appeared. Privacy seals.

"Nothing," she said loudly, "comes or goes out of this room. Kakashi, monitor him for lies."

Kakashi opened his Sharingan, pushing his headband up.

Obito spoke. "It might've been days or hours from the minute the rocks half crushed me..."

~:~

Naruto felt heat. She was relieved to feel the weight of her sword on her back, and she opened her eyes.

Blackness.

She panicked. "LET ME OUT!" she cried.

And like magic (or because there were unseen airholes in the thing encircling her), the sand (for that's what she saw it was when light invaded) fell from around her, and she was in the middle of Suna.

She fell onto the ground hacking sand and she started to cry.

Not because of Gaara; no, it was because she'd just forgiven the guy who had made her grow up an orphan.

But she honestly thought that he deserved redemption; everyone did.

Gaara put a hand on her shoulder and she clutched at him, crying, in the middle of the Village Hidden in the Sand.

~:~

Later that week, she was facing the Kazekage and perspiring in the heat of the robes the Kazekage had given her. Seriously, the amount of clothes she had now - from Rouran, her jumpsuit, Haku's gift of clothes, and now the three pairs of robes the Kazekage had given her along with a couple shinobi clothes Temari had foisted upon the jinchuuriki girl and Saki, Naruto could start her own secondhand shop (not that she'd do that, of course!).

The duo watched each other for a few seconds before the Kazekage sighed.

"I will now teach you how to create a Ketsueki Bunshin."

He put his hands in the Hare sign, then the Dragon. Then, he bit his thumb, slammed it on the ground, and a powerful wave of chakra exploded from him, making the teenager flinch. A poof of smoke and a similar Kazekage appeared.

"Now, throw a kunai at me," the Kazekage invited. "At my heart."

She paled. She... Well, sucked at projectile weapons (a reason she's stuck with her katana).

"Er, why not have one of your ANBU do it?" she suggested brightly.

He stared at her.

With a reluctant sigh, she took a kunai out and gulped, aiming.

She threw it how Shisui had taught her... And she watched, disbelievingly, as her kunai sliced into the Kazekage's chest.

"AH, I ACCIDENTALLY KILLED THE KAZEKAGE!" She shrieked. "I'M TERRIBLE AT KUNAI THROWING, IT WAS A MISTAKE, PROMISE!"

"You didn't kill me," the Kazekage deadpanned. "You may have killed the original me, but all my experience in that body passed on to me. I'm perfectly fine." He gestured to her.

Naruto calmed down. Then she used the Hare and Dragon signs, bit her thumb, slammed it on the ground, and used up half her chakra in one blast.

Which created one clone that looked like her.

"I have a twin!" she delighted.

The loud sound of the Kazekage facepalming was heard.

Then Naruto found herself wide-eyed as gold dust came at her. As it came inches from her face, the teen threw her arms up in front of her face.

Sand exploded from the ground.

 **One of my many gifts to you,** Kurama whispered in her mind. **Shukaku isn't the only one able to move sand around; and this man won't be the only one able to use gold. Use it wisely.**

 _Kurama. Did you seriously steal one of your brothers' abilities?_

 **No, you idiot! We all have the ability to fuck with our hosts' DNA. Shukaku isn't the only one who can give his host the freakin' Dust Release! Just focus! Oh, yeah, and Magnet Release, seeing as gold's a metal...**

Naruto returned her focus to the astounded Kazekage.

Then she tilted her head, and lifted her head. The sand responded to her.

 **It's a great defense, too. Ever get too lazy to do any shit you can just manipulate the sand like a badass. You'll have to ask Gaara how it works. And when you're done with that, remember, gold is heavier than sand.**

Naruto made it impale her blood clone, who gave her a betrayed look before dying.

And then the clone's memories slammed into her, and Naruto realized just how big of an absolute idiot she was right before she passed out.


	36. 36

Shikamaru unrolled the missive; a summons from Tsunade to Naruto.

"Looks like it's time to head home," Shikamaru sighed.

Gaara stepped in, holding Naruto up, who was now wearing a gourd on her back like Gaara, her katana under it.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"Apparently the Kyuubi likes to fuck with things," Naruto said shortly, legging go of Gaara and limping to the bed before sinking down. "Magnet Release and Dust Release," she informed them. "He promised it would be the last time that he'd fuck with my DNA."

"Oh, that's cool!" Kiba said, grinning broadly. "Now you can just stand there and do nothing while you're stopping other ninja or bandits!"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Kiba, you and the Kyuubi have eerily similar minds, you know that?"

Kiba's grin slid off of his face.

"Okay, well, Tsunade sent a summons for you," Shikamaru said.

"Oh, hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto grinned brilliantly. "I forgot you were here. How was your stay?"

Shikamaru pinched his nose. "WE NEED TO GO BACK TO KONOHA!"

A ringing silence.

"Okay!" Naruto said with a yawn. "Just... One more night here..."

She opened her eyes after a minute of shut-eye. "Hey, wait, I can send a -"

Shikamaru hit her pressure point on the back of her neck, and she was out like a light.

~:~

They were zooming over the sand dunes, a gleeful expression on Kiba's face.

"What happens when you run out of chakra?" Shikamaru called over the wind.

"I'll stop before then!" Naruto called. "Don't want to be caught unawares, after all! Not like last time!"

That was a very good point. Luckily, Gaara had been thoughtful enough to give them scrolls to carry their belongings; each of their backpacks were designated for something. Kiba's was the food, Shika's was the water (because nobody really thought bandits would go after him), Saki's the clothes (because lab coat or not, you touch Saki's clothes and she'll kill you), Naruto's the weapons, and Neji was just enjoying himself.

They sailed across the desert quickly, ignoring the hot sun that beat upon them. Naruto made it to the line, then floated the sand down and let it trickle back into her gourd. "I'm painting my gourd orange and blue," she announced. "And I'm going to keep orange and blue paint with me in case I need to paint it again."

"I'm still wondering how you're even related to Gaara," Kiba said slowly as they began walking, relishing the change as they traveled through Ame no Kuni.

"I'm related to him because a) we're jinchuuriki siblings, b) we're both Uzumaki, and c)... Well, we both have blood red hair?"

"Did you find out what you wanted to know about Akasuna no Sasori?" asked Shikamaru. Naruto's face darkened.

"Two words. Living puppets," she said, grimly. "Apparently he can transform the bones of humans into steel, possibly due to Magnet Release. I'm not clear on the details, because Rasa hasn't witnessed it yet, but I really don't want to cross paths with the guy anytime soon."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good." Shikamaru paused. "Are we going after Sasuke?"

Naruto tripped over a rock, but steadied herself.

"Let's talk about that later," Naruto offered quickly. "So, how long do you want to stay in Konoha?"

"Two weeks, tops?" Shikamaru asked.

"A month," Kiba replied.

"It doesn't matter," Neji replied dismissively.

"I'm not letting you leave without my awesomeness," Saki winked, draping herself over Naruto.

Shikamaru bit his lip.

"Kiba, what do you think about taking a break from traveling for a while?" Shikamaru asked as they walked further into Ame no Kuni. Rain drenched them to the pore.

Naruto shivered, a feeling of deep foreboding entering her.

"I shouldn't be here." She stilled. "Guys, we need to go. Now!"

"'Fraid it's a little late for that. Katsu!"

Naruto brought her sword out and dodged the bomb. Bakahatsu no Deidara seemed unusually gleeful as he threw down bomb after bomb.

"Run!" she yelled at her friends.

"No." Saki's eyes swirled, changing into Mangekyou form.

And then, a giant green form formed around them.

"Susano'o!" Saki grinned. She'd taken her glasses off. "Time Warp: Spinning Second!" Time slowed. It didn't stop, but it did slow.

"Now, let's run!" Saki cried. "Naruto, my Susano'o is weightless!"

Naruto nodded, and without a backwards glance, Naruto formed sand under them and shot off, towards the nearest border.

~:~

Saki's Susano'o fell to pieces when Deidara was no longer visible in the sky. Kurama supplied Naruto with a steady supply of chakra, and she made sure all of them were secured to the cloud of sand.

They slowed down near the border of Hi no Kuni, but didn't stop until Naruto literally crashed into a tree.

"I think it's safe to say we're good," Saki muttered, staying where she lay.

"Sorry, guys... Just... So tired..." Naruto yawned again.

"We're going to have to use your sand cloud again tomorrow," Shikamaru muttered.

"I know," Naruto replied. "But I think we'll be fi- i- i- ine!" she yawned again. "For the night, at least."

They all took shelter under trees, and despite their exhaustion, none of them slept well.

~:~

They passed Tanzaku Gai before they got off the sand cloud, but didn't dare all fall asleep at the same time. That had been a narrow escape, even with Saki's Sharingan.

Naruto took the first watch, barely managing to stay awake and even falling asleep a time or two before jerking awake.

Neji relieved her for second shift, and on and on it went. Silence prevailed.

They made it to Konoha, dead on their feet. None of them spoke, and their appearances were such that Izumo actually had to ask who they were; but looking at Saki's coat and Kiba's fang marks and Neji's head, it was confirmed rather quickly.

"You guys look like crap," observed Tsunade when they got to her office, civilians quickly getting out of their way. They didn't exactly smell like daisies, and Shikamaru's hair was down and tangled, Saki had dried blood all over her face under her eyes as well as leaves and twigs tangled in her hair, and Naruto had blood all over her face, and tangles in her hair.

Tsunade grimaced as she smelled them.

"Tori, show them to the jounin lounge. I'm sure there's a few beds in ANBU HQ that they can use, right? And showers? Definitely showers. Also, a trim for Shikamaru and a cut for the girls?"

Tori bowed and herded the group out.

Zombielike, they shuffled out.


	37. 37

**So I have a one-shot. It's called 'The Reason Why Kakashi', and I was thinking on maybe making a series of oneshots? Any requests can be sent, just... Not any lemon requests, because I really can't do that. Um... I think that's all... So yeah. Later!**

 **(Zabuza: *levels Kubikiriboucho at author* You forgot to say this: angelslaugh doesn't own Naruto, only OCs that appear quite randomly.**

 **angelslaugh: I didn't 'forget', I just left that up to you, Zabuza~)**

 **My only excuse for Naruto knowing Neko's name is... I forgot she didn't know her name. My bad.**

 **~:~**

Naruto's hair felt much lighter when she woke up. An ANBU was reading a newspaper.

Naruto really didn't feel like getting up. The panic that had been there the past few days was gone; like she was safe inside Konoha walls.

Considering what happened last time? Well, it was a laughable prospect. Safe.

Naruto groaned and sat up, noticing her hair length. It was a much more manageable length - long enough to put in a short ponytail, but not long enough that she had to do it. She was glad for it, even though she couldn't really remember when it was cut.

"Tsunade-sama wishes to see you when you're freshened up," a cool, female voice Naruto usually associated with Neko said.

"...Your masks were changed?"

"New Kage, new masks, apparently. Well, actually, I'm still trying to get mine from Gama. Somehow Hebi got hers back." Yugao, one of Naruto's teachers in the way of the sword, folded her newspaper, and stood. "Hurry up, I have to take you to where Tsunade-sama wants to meet after I tell your friends what they're allowed to do."

"I think Kiba wants to learn some more sword skills," Naruto told her, dressing quickly as Yugao walked to the door.

"Really? Sword skills take years to learn. Yours did," Yugao replied.

"Because I suck at aiming everything but a sword, it's kind of hard to learn to fight short range when you're also a long-range fighter," Naruto replied crossly.

"You need to learn more ninjutsu." Yugao showed her to the lounge area. Lots of unmasked ANBU were around, drinking coffee. Quickly, they all tensed as Yugao walked in with Naruto.

"Oh, chill your freaking minds," Naruto said with an eyeroll. "I'm a freaking jinchuuriki and can distinguish what you smell like within seconds. Half of you haven't showered, which is disgusting, and I really don't care to know your true identities, no matter what you look like. Yugao, I'm not supposed to be here, why -"

Yugao grabbed her arm and yanked her to the coffee machine while slamming a piece of duct tape over Naruto's mouth to shut her up. Naruto used her other arm to yank the duct tape off as Yugao poured coffee in the sugar dispenser and then poured the sugar-drenched coffee inside a cup. Then, when Naruto opened her mouth to ask Yugao just what she was doing, Yugao made her drink the coffee. Ruthlessly.

She sputtered and got coffee and sugar all over her face. Yugao, like a mother, took a napkin and wiped her face.

"YUGAO, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Naruto shrieked, skittering backwards and yanking her arm away, hearing a nasty crack and feeling a shooting pain. Her heart started to double tap, and Yugao smirked.

"You're more fun under the influence," Yugao snickered as Naruto's vision doubled and her eyes dilated. Like she was on drugs.

Seriously, Naruto should never be given sugar.

~:~

Tsunade wondered why Naruto seemed to be high. She was acting it, leaning on Yugao the whole way, a large, dopey smile on her face. When she was finished explaining to Naruto what she wanted done, Naruto waved her hand and told her it would be taken care of.

Indeed, when she went to see Shin, she saw him looking mildly amused with a group of the seriously stubborn 'Ne' members smiling at whatever she was doing. And then, when Naruto moved out of the way, Tsunade felt an irk mark grow.

Naruto had painted her... As a male. Flirting with a female Jiraiya.

 _"Naruto!"_

Naruto looked towards her with that same stupid grin on her face as Tsunade hit her. No holding back now.

Naruto sailed through two walls and made a very deep imprint on the steel wall that was the outside for the HQ of 'Ne'.

"He may be my soon-to-be husband, but that does _not_ give you the right to draw that." She stabbed a finger at the picture, and Naruto stood up, looking confused. She tripped over nothing and faceplanted, but thankfully Shin was there to catch her.

"Thanks," Naruto said. "Neko, you ever put so much sugar and coffee into me again, I swear I'll beat you in a duel."

Gama sighed. "It's 'Gama' now, you fool."

"No, it's Neko, and it always will be, new Kage or not," Naruto shot back with a smile. "Tsunade no baachan!" Naruto hugged Tsunade, who hugged her back, before making the younger girl step back as Tsunade looked over her critically.

"Well, you seem to be in good health," Tsunade announced. "Better health than you were earlier."

A small curious expression of fear came over Naruto before it vanished. "Ah, yeah, about that, I need to talk to you in private. It's not about you guys," Naruto added, twisting around and smiling at the 'Ne' guys. "But it's something really private."

Tsunade nodded. "Very well. Let's go to my office; we'll talk there. Gama, with me."

~:~

"Until I can trust them, I am pairing them up with several ANBU to five of them at a time," Tsunade informed Naruto once they were in her office, Shizune setting a chair in the office for Naruto.

Naruto nodded at Shizune and sat in the chair.

"That's good, but you don't exactly have the ANBU to spare," Naruto noted.

Tsunade shook her head. "I don't. So I plan on creating teams with regular jounin like Gai and Kakashi and perhaps Asuma; it depends, really." Tsunade shuffled some of her papers on her desk. "Now, Gama has informed me that Saki-san's eyes are going blind as long as she uses any special features on them."

Naruto looked horrified. "Her Mangekyou causes blindness?! I should've guessed!" Naruto looked pissed at herself.

Tsunade smirked at her.

"Unless another pair of Uchiha eyes are donated, yes? Gama, bring him here, and make sure Kakashi and Iruka come, too. I have no doubt they're dying to see Naruto."

Gama's chakra vanished.

"While Gama's doing that, tell me your news," Tsunade instructed.

Naruto swallowed.

"I have reason to believe," she told Tsunade, "that Akasuna no Sasori of the Akatsuki is after me, as is his apparent partner, Bakuhatsu no Deidara. Apparently Sasori can make living puppets."

Tsunade nodded. "I've heard the same. Some Kekkei Genkai are only available while one is alive. Like yours. As Queen of the Uzumaki, your powers are only available until you're dead. And then they're passed onto the next Queen."

The Uzumaki Queen gained a pensive look. "Yeah... And Baachan, I've got to tell you something." Naruto took a deep breath. "The Senju... They're descended from the Uchiha and Uzumaki."

Tsunade stared at her.

"Meaning nothing, really," Naruto hurried to explain. "It's just that I found that out during my latest trip to Uzushio, right after we left last time. We headed to Suna - Oh, and avoid, if possible, Ame no Kuni," Naruto added, recalling with that small bit of fear what might've happened if Saki hadn't used her eyes.

"Ame no Kuni?" Tsunade asked, paling.

Before Naruto could elaborate, the door opened. "Iruka-kaa-san!" She had dropped the 'sensei' out of the Academy. She hugged the Chuunin, who laughed warmly.

"Hey, Naruto. It's been a while," he greeted.

"It certainly has," Kakashi grinned.

"Only a few months," Naruto grinned up at them. Then she saw the newcomer, who looked very familiar. "Do I know you?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Ah, we met twenty years ago, before you were born. Bakashi's been filling me in."

Bakashi... "You're Obito!" she immediately said with a grin. "Wow, you're old."

He facefaulted. "I'm only thirty-three, you bitch!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Naruto yelled, getting in his face. Obito got right in hers, too.

"I called it like I see it! You call me old, you're a bitch!"

"You're a bastard, then!"

"Yep," Obito ground out.

"Same!" Naruto chirped. Both were instantly back to normal, smiling at each other.

"Dear kamis, I've never met anyone who actually got along as well as these two," Kakashi said with a sweatdrop. Then he paused and turned to Naruto. "Why did you give Rin the idea to give me an Icha Icha?"

Naruto grinned. "So she did it, huh? Good. Bet you secretly stayed up and read it all the time."

"Not until I left ANBU," confessed Kakashi.

Naruto smiled. "Well, it's definitely nice to see you again, Obito, even if it was only about two weeks ago for me," confessed the young jinchuuriki. "Did you tell Tsunade about -" She had trouble speaking for a moment.

Obito looked sad for a moment. "I'm sorry, I really am," he said, truly regretful.

Naruto swallowed. "It's fine."

Tsunade cleared her throat, and everyone turned to her.

"You told me, in confidence, that you knew where Uchiha eyes were. Is that true?" Tsunade questioned.

Obito nodded. "It is. I can save Kakashi's eyesight with those eyes, and Saki-san's, if she'll permit. There's only one side-affect, and it's a rather good one," Obito added with a smile. "It permits the user full usage of their Mangekyou eyes without going blind. Of course, it has to be a close relative's, but since all Uchiha basically are related to one another I can do it."

Tsunade nodded. "And as for Uchiha Itachi, I have found something in Shimura Danzou's files pertaining to him. I want you to retrieve him from the Akatsuki organization."

There was a stunned pause.

"Okay," Obito said after a moment. "I think I'll need help on this one."

Naruto cleared her throat.

"I need help on another matter I was going to tell you about, Tsunade-sama." She got a raised eyebrow from Tsunade. "I may be able to retrieve Sasuke, but I will need at least a couple months before everything is fully prepared," she admitted. "If it's alright for you, I would like to stay inside Konoha, but somewhere where I won't be bothered much. I can assist Obito-san in retrieving Itachi-san, and he can assist me in retrieving Sasuke."

Tsunade nodded. "Request granted, both of you. Naruto, the tower in the Forest of Death is empty if you want to stay there. Only Mitarashi Anko is usually in there."

"Hebi?" Naruto perked up. "I like her. Oh, and one more thing. You know what the Kazekage did to stay alive, right?"

Tsunade nodded at her.

"Well, he taught me that, and I think I need to send myself to Uzushio. There might be more than two there," Naruto finished.

Tsunade sat back in her chair, looking at her.

"You can make more than one?"

Naruto nodded. "I expect he'll kill a lot of them, so I think I will keep one of them in reserve in case he kills them."

Tsunade nodded, but then paused. "Ame no Kuni?" she finally asked.

Naruto didn't bat an eye. "It's where I think the Akatsuki are located." She noticed the sudden fear on Tsunade's face.

"What's wrong, Baachan?"

"...That's where Jiraiya went," Tsunade whispered.

Naruto's face whitened, too.

"I guess Saki's eyes can wait," Naruto said steadily. "Obito, get me to Amegakure."

"What? No, Naruto, I forbid it -" Tsunade started.

Naruto drew herself up.

"I will not stand by," she snapped at her grandmother. "He is my grandfather, and I can't let him die! I just can't. Plus, Hokage-sama, I'm _not_ one of your ninja. I'm a wandering ninja." She glanced at Obito. "You're not one of her ninja yet, are you?"

"As if I care about his safety," Tsunade snapped, then, seeing everyone's expressions, she sighed. "Okay, I kind of do. But not as much as I care about you, Naruto. Please. Don't go," Tsunade pleaded.

Naruto shook her head slowly, a soft smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I don't have a choice."

She looked at Obito, and silently conferred with him. He nodded quickly and grabbed her arm.

Both swirled into nothingness, and Tsunade roared and picked up her desk, throwing it out and watching it shatter against the street.


	38. 38

Naruto was warped into her room in ANBU HQ, which Saki was just entering.

Saki saw her tying her blank headband on her forehead.

"You look like you're going to war," she noted, leaning against the wall.

"You could say that," Naruto replied grimly, strapping on her sword and adjusting it so she could put her gourd on her back.

"Then I'm going with," Neji said, appearing.

Naruto bit her lip, and Saki grinned at her.

"You can't leave me behind, lover," she said, swaying her hips. And despite the situation, Naruto cracked a smile.

Obito swirled in, looking grim. "Ready?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "Are you coming or staying?" she asked Saki.

"Well, I'm ready," Saki said, throwing her glasses on the bed and letting her eyes swirl into the bloodred Sharingan. "What about you, Neji?"

The veins next to Neji's eyes bulged. "I'm not missing this opportunity to help."

Obito nodded. "Grab onto me and be prepared to fight."

Naruto withdrew her sword, which immediately began misting with Kurama's energy, and put her non-dominant hand on Obito's arm. Saki grasped his shoulder, and Neji grasped his other arm. With a thought, the man and the three young teens swirled out of existence.

~:~

Naruto was instantly on the offensive when she saw that Jiraiya was in deep shit. Demon energy lashed out as she swept her sword in a wide arc, joining the fight by her grandfather's side. Said man just stared at her for a moment, and Naruto took in how ugly he looked at that moment and two toads on either side of him that stared at Naruto as well for a moment.

"You look ugly today," she commented as Neji and Saki stood in front of them.

"That's rude," her grandfather deadpanned.

"I'm sorry. Hello, Grandfather, you look exceptionally ugly today. Better?"

"Of course I get the rudest grandchild," Jiraiya sighed. "Look, they all have shared sight, they're the same person - one of my old students. Nagato."

Obito looked guilty for a moment. Naruto sighed and raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. She couldn't blame him for everything, after all.

"Okay, well, how dangerous are they on a scale of 1 to 1000?" she questioned.

Jiraiya looked grave. "30000."

"Fuck," Naruto swore.

"My thoughts exactly." Jiraiya gasped as the marks faded. "And I can only keep this Sage Mode on for so long."

Naruto smirked. _Kurama. Sorry to bother your nap, but we need to sync._

 **Ready when you are, kit.**

Naruto took a deep breath, then the full Eight Trigrams seal covered her as golden chakra enshrouded her body.

Her five senses expanded - it was almost unbearable. Power - ah, she wanted to languish in the power! The chakra coursing through her was so... So much that it kind of affected her mind for a minute.

Then, she jerked herself out of it. She always let the cloak stay on for a minute afterwards to enjoy the serenity of it. It was addicting because inside the cloak she felt powerful.

But she didn't - _couldn't_ \- get lost in the power for now.

Naruto's blade, too, changed color. It changed to orange instead of red, and Kurama's power doubled in it. She ran forward, bringing her sword up and crashing through the rock where she could sense an immense chakra just lying in wait.

She avoided touching one of them. Kurama told her what powers his father's eyes had had, and she quickly deduced which ones were least important.

The one that couldn't jump and the one that looked metal.

She destroyed the metal one easily. Then she sliced through the one that couldn't jump, then jumped back out.

The others followed.

She grinned.

This was fun.

~:~

Saki liked her Susano'o. It was pretty, and it was her ultimate defense.

And it could double as a trap! See, Saki could manifest it around anyone. As long as they were in her eyesight, she could create her Susano'o. She did just that around the biggest one with purple eyes and used her Time Mangekyou to speed time up for it.

Then, after a quick thought, she opened her other Mangekyou, which she had never used but knew the purpose of. To steal Kekkei Genkai.

She stared into the eyes of the big man, and she drew on whatever his talent was. "Mangekyou Sharingan: Bloodline Thief," she said quietly. And with a cry, she clutched at her forehead. Well, she never expected another eye to appear on her freaking forehead, but at least she'd gotten whatever the guy had. Which was, as she found out, sucking in ninjutsu. Every time she drew on someone else's ninjutsu, she would convert it into more chakra, therefore adding it to her own reserves. She kept her eyes open, despite both of them starting to bleed, and was about to finish one off when she spotted Neji and transferred the power of her defense to Neji. Susano'o vanished from around that ninjutsu guy and appeared around Neji.

Her Sharingan were starting to pain her, but she did nothing and simply watched both the ninjutsu guy and her ally. Obito was fighting a blunette woman who seemed largely unemotional.

And Naruto - Naruto was simply amazing. She left streaks of yellow as she weaved in and out of three of the purple-eyed men.

And just as Saki though she was going to win, Jiraiya lost against his opponent.

Wait - Naruto had destroyed two of the six, so how was she fighting three, Saki one, Jiraiya one, and Neji one?

Saki could endure the pain in her eyes no longer; she collapsed, her Susano'o doing the same, her chakra almost gone. The last thing she saw was what looked like the mouth of a toad.

~:~

Naruto was winning, she really was.

But then -

"Shinra Tensei."

She was blown backwards while the others remained standing, and she collided with a wall. Saki had collapsed, she saw in her wavering vision, and Neji's chakra was fading, and she was probably going to lose.

"No!" Jiraiya's angry voice met her ears, and she watched as he became ugly again and slammed his body into the guy he was facing.

Naruto got up, ignoring the pain, and was driven back by a rod being driven into her shoulder, driving deep into the bone.

Eyes, purple and ringed, burned into her mind.

And Jiraiya slammed his hand on the ground.

"Collect the injured!" he bellowed to the other frog that had appeared.

Naruto took a deep breath and brought up her sword and sliced off her shoulder. Then she removed her arm from the rod. It was disgusting, but she didn't think Kurama would like to keep making her a new arm when the other one was perfectly fine and only have a single hole in it. She shoved her arm into her gourd, summoning a golden arm to replace it, and sternly told Kurama, _Don't give me a new arm._

Kurama was silent, but Naruto didn't take it personally. Naruto summoned sand from her gourd to attack, but pulled it on the defensive as she made an obvious attempt to get to Jiraiya, noticing the toad grabbing Obito, wincing as she realized he was bleeding. A lot.

She called to Neji. "Neji!"

Neji sprang back. "Naruto, none of these have clearly defined chakra coils. There's not much I can do!"

"All we've got to do is capture one," the girl decided. "The one that summons animals should be good enough." She looked for it. "Destroy that one." She pointed to the one with three faces. "And while they're distracted, I'll nab the one with Summoning abilities and use my sand to cut off its hand."

Neji nodded. They waited for a few precious seconds, and then Naruto made a dash for Jiraiya. Like she suspected, the one that had the ability to toss her aside did that very thing, straight towards the Summon one. Then she used her sand discreetly, hiding the way she controlled it, and Neji used his Jyuuken to find the weak spots in the metal one.

The metal one fell apart, and Naruto used that moment of distraction to destroy the hands of the one that could summon.

Then she made her sand cover it. From what she could see, the one that could Summon didn't have a very good attack. So, in taking that one out, Naruto was limiting the controller in what he could do.

The toad Jiraiya had summoned appeared again, this time behind her.

"The sand ball," she ordered.

"He ordered me to get the injured," the toad said stubbornly.

Naruto let the sand fall off to reveal the crushed hands. Then she put the sand back up and the toad wrapped its tongue around the sand ball and swallowed it.

"Get Neji next, I still have an arm." She flexed the chakra arm.

The toad stared at her for a moment, rolled its eyes, and jumped over to Neji and grabbed him with his tongue.

Neji didn't say a word, even though Naruto thought he looked disgusted when his face briefly turned towards her.

She turned her attention back to the fight. The bodies all looked at her and Jiraiya, giving her a moments' rest.

She was tired already; the sync mode drained her after it went away, no matter what. And with how much energy she was expanding with keeping a chakra arm up, she wouldn't be surprised if she was asleep for a couple days. She thought fast, and instantly got an idea.

She sat down, making the chakra arm smaller, and focused.

And like she planned, her sand went with the chains that buried themselves in the ground and sprang up, over and over, creating a shield.

Her breath shortened, and she carefully reached back and got her arm. She had a minute before the surprise wore off, and she'd take it to re-attach her arm.

Shakily, she made it float in the chakra. It looked disgusting. Thankfully, no sand had gotten on the part she'd cut off or the hole that the rod had made in it.

The toad popped up, and she gestured to Jiraiya weakly.

He did as she commanded. She needed to get them safe.

Just as he finished swallowing Jiraiya (or whatever he'd done with the injured ninja), Naruto started to retract her chains.

Something speared her, making her cough blood in surprise. It had narrowly missed her spine, and just barely missed any of the ink on her stomach that she could see around the torn edges of her shirt.

Then hands lifted the girl up into a sitting position. Naruto hadn't even realized she was leaning heavily to the side.

"We can wait a few more years," a monotonous female voice said as hands wrapped around her neck.

Naruto couldn't breathe.

Just as her vision was going black and listening to the spatter of her own blood hitting the ground, a slightly familiar voice roared.

"Katsu!"

Naruto knew no more.


	39. 39

Neji found that the stomach of a toad was highly pungent and very slimy. He never wanted to be in another toad's stomach as long as he lived, and as Jiraiya slid down with two small toads on his shoulders, he realized he was the only one _not_ that injured thanks to his _Kaiten._

"Ma, do you mind if these guys come to Mount Myoboku? I think they need to rest, and I need to rest so Tsunade-hime doesn't see me like this," Jiraiya said to the female toad.

Just then, the toad's stomach lurched, then Naruto came down with what looked like paper piercing her diagonally and burns all over her. Bruises bloomed on her neck, and she was barely breathing.

Jiraiya looked horrified, and the toads looked around at each other.

"Yes, it looks like you could do with Toad healing," nodded the female toad. "But as soon as they're healed, they leave. And when you go, take the long-haired boy."

Neji didn't pay any attention to her, interested in taking what remained of his shirt off to pillow the wound on her back. The toad vanished from around them, and Neji blinked and then stared around him in awe.

"Hīrugama!"

A toad with bandages around its chest jumped.

"Give them all some healing salve, except for this one. Do what you can with this one," Ma instructed, pointing at Naruto last.

Hīrugama nodded, and he(?) took Naruto quietly as three gurneys appeared. Obito, Saki, and Naruto were carefully set on it, and Neji glared at Hīrugama as he(?) shooed Neji away without words.

"I'm not leaving her side," he insisted.

Jiraiya lay a hand on his shoulder. "This is the Summon realm, kid. You're not allowed to be here, watching, if you're not a summoner. Bringing you here was not an easy choice of Ma's. Come on, Ma and Pa will feed us. Just don't complain."

Neji looked at Naruto.

"She's in the best hands here," Jiraiya reassured him as Hīrugama started hopping away, chakra strings making the gurneys follow. "Hīrugama is the best toad healer."

Neji followed him reluctantly, keeping his eyes lowered and Byakugan off in respect.

He entered the two older Toads' homes, and they looked up at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-boy, wasn't that -"

Jiraiya shook his head. "It wasn't Yahiko. It was Nagato. It had to be."

Ma sighed. "Well, I suppose he's right. Yahiko never had those eyes." Ma turned to Neji. "I am Shima, one of the Toad Sages."

"Hyuuga Neji of the Hyuuga clan," Neji said, bowing. "It is an honor to be in your world, Shima-sama."

"Call me Ma," the toad sage smiled. It was slightly disturbing. "This is Pa. And you know our other summoner, hmm? The injured girl?"

Neji nodded, finding himself unable to speak.

"Sit," Ma said, pointing one of her webbed hands at one of the small table sides and setting out a bowl. Jiraiya looked queasy as Ma pulled out a pot and steam came out of it when she took the lid off.

When Neji saw what it was, his stomach rebelled and he almost asked Jiraiya to take him back, but he remained silent. He didn't want to offend Ma.

Without complaint, he ate very quickly, then bowed at a surprised Ma.

"Your food is most delicious," he said to them.

Ma stared at him for a minute.

"See, Jiraiya-boy! You have no manners! You should learn from this nice young human!" Ma exclaimed.

Neji kept his snicker under wraps as Jiraiya threw him a filthy look.

~:~

When Saki recovered, Jiraiya left to get treated. Apparently he was more wounded then he looked. Neji glanced at the girl, who currently had bandages over her forehead and her eyes.

"What happened to your eyes?" he asked her.

"Overused my Sharingan," the girl replied. "Oh, and expanded my chakra coils a bit too much. Gained an eye by using my non-Time Mangekyou. Ow, my forehead hurts," the Uchiha moaned. "Is Naruto around?"

Neji said nothing, as a lump had grown in his throat. According to Ma and Pa, Naruto's internal injuries coupled with the burns and the fact that the seal holding back the Kyuubi might be messed up made it very difficult for Hīrugama to heal her. Oh, and the arm.

"Well, she got internally damaged, she sliced off one of her own arms, got choked, burned by something, and her seal might be messed up, so... Not good. She hasn't even woken up once," Neji replied quietly.

Saki stilled.

"Hīrugama is doing the best he can, but..." Neji looked away. "The toads don't have experience in healing deep wounds for humans. Especially since there could still be some paper in her wound - there was a paper spear, possibly from the lady that other Uchiha was fighting," Neji finished. "And the Summon person we captured was sealed in a scroll by Jiraiya-sama. After he's healed, he plans on going back with those of us non-injured."

"Obito's awake," Saki whispered. "He should be coming here with Jiraiya-sama."

Neither of them wanted to talk about Naruto anymore. It was painful.

~:~

Three hours later and Obito warped out of the dimension, Hīrugama still working on Naruto with little to no improvement. Walking up to the gate in broad daylight, Saki and Obito both using Neji as their guide (as Jiraiya was in a very foul mood), bandages over their eyes with Jiraiya and Neji wearing some quickly-sewn clothes given to them by the Toads, they were quite a sight.

Izumo nodded at Jiraiya respectfully and waved at Neji, who simply stared at him. Izumo flushed, embarrassed, but then Kotetsu leaned forward and murmured, "Where's Naruto?"

Izumo realized something must've happened to the cheerful redhead.

They continued to the Hokage Tower, garnering some curious looks as they walked through the marketplace with hurried steps, wearing odd, leafy clothes. They were instantly let in, and Tsunade glowered at Jiraiya.

"You should've taken backup!" she roared at him.

"You're right, hime," Jiraiya said, wearily. "Naruto's still in Mount Myoboku."

Tsunade's expression became stony. "Why?"

"Because she nearly got killed, and honestly, hime, if I'd known that they were that dangerous -" Jiraiya cut himself off. "I know two members of the Akatsuki. Both are very familiar to you," he told Tsunade.

"Who?" Tsunade asked, curiosity thawing out her expression.

"Konan and Nagato."

Tsunade stared at him. "Konan... Nagato... Your students in the Second Shinobi War?"

Jiraiya nodded grimly.

"What about the second part of Ame?" Tsunade demanded. "Do you know who -"

Jiraiya nodded, his face so grim Tsunade shut up.

"It appears," Jiraiya said to her, "that Hanzou the Salamander is still alive."


	40. 40

Neji led Saki and Obito back to their homes, knocking on the door of Iruka-sensei's and then walking off, dropping Saki off at Naruto's, the place Saki requested. Then he went home, Ko nodding respectfully at him before stepping aside.

Hinata hugged him, then tugged him to his room to get dressed for dinner. He did so, and when he returned to the table he spotted Hanabi sitting there.

Neji sat down and stared at his food before picking up some chopsticks to eat the rice.

"So, Neji, how is Naruto?" His father's question made the lump in his throat come back.

"She's -" He stopped. "She'll be here soon."

At that point, he didn't know who he was trying to make feel better. Himself, or his family.

After all, there was a giant fox in her stomach, so why shouldn't she be -

Neji dropped his chopsticks, stood, and bowed before running out, past Ko. He jumped on top of the houses, noticing other ninja doing the same, and ran toward the Hokage Tower.

He ran past the secretary, his legs feeling like someone had liquefied them, before slamming the door open and looking at a startled Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Neji? I thought you left twenty minutes -"

"Fox," he blurted. "Fox summons. Can't they help Naruto?"

Jiraiya's face went slack with surprise.

"But the foxes have never gotten along with the Toads," Tsunade said with a frown.

"Then why did Naruto sign the Toad Summon contract?" Neji demanded.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, who shrugged, looking confused.

"There's no rule that says she can't sign two," Tsunade said. "But it would probably be best if I went. Jiraiya, you're in charge for now," she ordered him, before running through a set of handseals. Jiraiya nodded and Tsunade slammed her hand down without biting her thumb.

With a burst of smoke, Tsunade was gone.

Jiraiya looked like he aged a hundred years as he sat down in Tsunade-sama's chair.

"Jiraiya-sama -"

"Just Jiraiya, kid. For now, anyway." Jiraiya ran a hand down his face. "What a mess we're in."

Neji hesitated. "I heard you say Hanzou the Salamander, sir." He was raised to respect people, after all - well, 'raised' meaning been ' _told to do so or your brains will be liquefied'._ "Didn't you and Tsunade-sama kill him?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "He gave us the title 'Sannin' because of our natural prowess with each of our summons." He looked at Neji. "Have you ever wanted a summon?"

Neji shook his head. "It is not allowed to have a summon in our clan if we are Branch members." It was true, but also... Neji kind of did, but he doubted that Hiashi would like that.

A timid knock on the door.

"Enter," Jiraiya said gruffly.

Ko poked his head around the door hesitantly. "Neji-san, Hiashi-sama sent me to get you. He says he needs to speak to you. Urgently."

Neji turned to the Sannin and bowed, taking his leave.

~:~

Tsunade stood up, but before she could say a word to Katsuyu, her words were taken by a rather odd sight.

A young woman stood in front of Tsunade, looking slightly haughty. Glowing red eyes glared from beneath ragged long hair, where two red-furred ears poked out. Red fur wrappings held her voluptuous chest, and a pair of ragged shorts dyed red was all that the woman wore to keep her modesty. The wrappings on her chest did nothing to keep peoples' sight off her chest. A red tail draped on the floor, casually flicking. That brought Tsunade's attention to her bare feet, which were very dirty. But then, Katsuyu's part of the Summon Realm was on the far end from the realm of the foxes.

"Is this the woman?" the fox girl demanded of Katsuyu. "The woman that holds my father prisoner?"

Tsunade looked taken aback, but that turned into even more shock as Katsuyu spit out acid.

"Do not talk about Naruto-hime like that," the Slug Boss said sharply.

Tsunade noticed Katsuyu was much smaller than she normally was when in her own dimension.

"Katsuyu," Tsunade said, addressing the Slug Boss, "are you helping the Toads heal Naruto?"

"Heal? _Heal,_ Katsuyu?! This Naruto, who holds my father!" the kitsune said, incredulous.

Katsuyu's tone got cold.

"If you want both your father and Naruto-hime to die, then certainly, I'll pull myself back. Unfortunately for you, I _like_ Naruto-hime," the slug snapped. "I don't like _you."_

The kitsune snarled. "That is my father, the Kyuubi, imprisoned!"

"You've repeated that about five times now," Tsunade said, probably exaggerating, but at the moment she couldn't care less. "My granddaughter is dying, and you are concerned over your own father? I'll have you know something, _kitsune._ If my granddaughter dies, I will make sure to stay alive and wait for the Kyuubi to reform again to _rip it to pieces with my_ BARE _hands._ Am I _clear?"_

The kitsune stared at her.

"Bold, for a human," the kitsune said at length. "I shall attend to the girl myself. Take me, Katsuyu."

"Tsunade-hime, please come." The kitsune and Tsunade both turned to Katsuyu, identical expressions on their faces.

"I'm not going with _her!"_ both human and centuries-old kitsune said, pointing at each other.

"SHUT UP AND COME, BOTH OF YOU!" Katsuyu _shouted,_ and both human and kitsune flinched briefly before following a Small Katsuyu.

~"~

Tsunade winced at the damage done. Truly, Katsuyu had been trying, but whatever it was was poisoning Naruto. The healing toad, Hīrugama, didn't relent in flowing green chakra to her wound.

The kitsune paled at the state of the small teen and looked to Tsunade. "This is worse than I thought. I thought Lady Katsuyu was just exaggerating."

"I don't exaggerate," a Small Katsuyu told her curtly.

The kitsune bared her teeth, then looked at the Toad. "Allow us to help."

Hīrugama nodded and moved an inch. The kitsune summoned Kyuubi-red chakra to her hands, and winced.

"Paper is keeping the wound from healing, her arm needs to be cut open _here_ and _here_ ," the kitsune said, two chakra arms manifesting and pointing at the places, "and the burns aren't life threatening. You need to stop the arm from poisoning her entire body, and then I can go to her stomach. Hīrugama, Katsuyu, the only think keeping her alive at this point is your healing, so keep doing it. My name is Kikiya, and you may call me Kiki, human." Kikiya glanced at Tsunade, who was cutting open Naruto's arm with a chakra scalpel. Yellowish ooze began flowing, and instantly Tsunade knew.

"Tsunade. Hīrugama, please get a bowl. I need to get this pus out of her arm before it gats any more infected."

And with that, Naruto's operation began.

~:~

The first inkling that she was alive was Tsunade bickering with an unfamiliar person.

"- _not_ be taking your damn father out of her!"

"He's my father, I should get to see him! I haven't seen him since I was a pup!"

Kurama shifted, and Naruto groaned at the headache the voices were giving her.

"She's waking up, thanks to you, you damned human!"

"Actually, she groaned after _you_ spoke. So shut the hell up."

"Can you _both_ shut the hell up? I've barely been awake for five damn seconds, and _both_ of you are fucking _annoying."_ Her words shut them up.

She cracked open her eyes. It took a minute for them to see properly, but even then she thought she was just seeing things.

Kurama jumped in her mind, and she was suddenly in the backseat of said mind.

~:~

Kurama hadn't seen Kikiya since she was a pup. He accidentally forced Naruto in a backseat position, and there they were. Kikiya was suddenly crying and holding him, and he grunted. He felt the pain Naruto felt whenever she was in control.

"Father, I have missed you! Can I please unseal you?" Begged Kikiya.

"No," Kurama said, glaring at Kikiya, who looked taken aback at his words. "You will do no such thing. I do not want to be unsealed." No, he did, he just didn't want to leave Naruto and be more vulnerable out in the open. "And you _will_ give Naruto the contract, and you _will_ answer her calls, Kikiya."

"But Father -" Kikiya said, but whimpered as Kurama's eyes burned into hers.

"You will listen to me," he said, steel in his voice. "I will not accept failure."

Kikiya bent her head. "As you wish, Father."

"Senju bitch," Kurama said casually to the Senju woman in greeting. Then he sank back into the depths of Naruto's mind.

~:~

Naruto remained in the Summon world to rest, while Tsunade returned to the real world, leaning heavily against the wall. Jiraiya caught her as she stumbled off of the wall.

"She'll be fine," Tsunade said, holding onto him.

"Good," Jiraiya replied. He set Tsunade on the couch of the office. "Rest, _hime._ "

Tsunade sighed. "Jiraiya... I'm thinking that we're going to need to send an envoy to Ame. The one Hanzou controls still. Isn't he older than us?"

"He was well into his years, yes," Jiraiya replied, frowning. "We could ask Obito to go."

"After he implants the Sharingan into Kakashi and Saki," Tsunade replied firmly. "And only after Naruto heals."

Jiraiya nodded. "Oh, and one of the old people dropped this off. A recommendation for a new team formed under Kakashi-san. Paired with the intel I have, I have reason to suggest the Elders are looking to recruit Sasuke back here at best."

"At worst?" Tsunade said, looking up at him.

"At worst, they're going to blackmail the 'Ne' member they want in Kakashi's team to kill him."

~:~

Sai and Shin, this time together and not separate, stood before the Hokage, kneeling.

"Sai, Shin. Your loyalties is with the Hokage, yes?"

Shin glanced up. "We live to obey," he said automatically.

Hokage-sama wiped a hand over her face.

"Alright, well, I want you to answer me honestly. Have any of the Elders approached you?"

Sai glanced at Shin, who blinked. There was a silence.

"Yes," Sai finally answered. "They claimed to be your envoys."

"I want to kill them," the Hokage growled, sounding pissed.

"Is that what you wish, Hokage-sama?" Shin asked, sounding perfectly sincere.

"...you'd kill them?"

"Hokage-sama," a voice said, coming from the corner of the room. It sounded quite exasperated.

"Right, no, you won't. It would save me endless worrying," the Hokage grumbled.

"Really, I could just poison their tea and be done with it," Shin said, a small smile appearing on his face.

Everyone in the office stared at him.

"You're joking," the Senju heiress said blankly.

"Yes," Shin replied.

Tsunade stared at him for a minute, then started to laugh.

"Ah, I needed that," she replied, looking far less worried. "Which of you have they asked or ordered to either kill or sway Sasuke onto our side?"

Sai rose his hand, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Great," Tsunade said, pleased. "Then I'm going to revise that order. Capture Uchiha Sasuke _alive_ with Tenzou Yamato, Haruno Sakura, and hopefully Uzumaki Naruto."

Sai looked up at her, startled.

"Sai-san," Tsunade said, looking at him. "You can, of course, say you don't want to do this with unfamiliar people. However... I don't think I can trust many others to do this and not look suspicious."

Sai understood. "I can do this, Hokage-sama."

Shin patted his back. "Tsunade-sama, most cells are in fours, correct? That's why it would be less suspicious?"

Tsunade hesitated, then sighed. "I suppose I must tell you the full reason I'm sending you if you wish it." She sighed and swiveled her chair to look out the window. "Sai-san, you know how to temporarily seal someone in a scroll, correct?"

Sai nodded. He could temporarily seal _anyone_ in any of his scrolls.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"I don't want her to be captured by the Akatsuki," the Hokage said flatly. "None of you are as important to the Akatsuki as she is; plus, the Akatsuki probably think she is dead, thanks to something that was keeping her wound open."

Sai nodded. It made some sort of sense for Tsunade to be worried.

"If you don't," a new voice said, and they watched as Jiraiya of the Sannin appeared, looking grave, "retrieve Sasuke this time, then I will take Naruto and Saki-san for a bit of training."

Tsunade nodded. "Very well. I have no complaint with that. But please, do try your very best. Only if you wish to help Naruto, of course."

"I will do my best," Sai said quietly.

Tsunade nodded. "If the Elders come to you, make up a story or something."

Sai exchanged a look with Shin.

"I am afraid, Tsunade-sama, that it's not possible."

Tsunade stared at them.

"Let me guess. They took over the seals on your tongues?" At their nod, her face dropped and she put her head in her hands and groaned. "Shin, that offer to kill them still open?"

"Hokage-sama!"

"What, Neko? I have my options, I should take them - how did you get your mask back?!"

"...Jiraiya-sama accepted my request."

"JIRAIYA!"


	41. 41

Neji went to breakfast with the other Rookies, who all cheerfully welcomed Neji back. Kiba looked well in his element, among friends, and Shikamaru looked as bored as ever.

And Shino asked the question everyone was thinking. Well, everyone who didn't know Naruto's current condition.

"What of Naruto? I would assume if you are back it means she is as well." He took a bite of breakfast.

Neji shrugged. "Tsunade-sama has returned. I assume she would have summoned me if Naruto was _not_ okay." But still, he couldn't get the image of Naruto, sliding down the toad's throat, bloody and burned.

Saki arrived, causing a brief confusion. She hadn't met the majority of the Rookies, after all.

"Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba - Naruto's fine. Just overheard Tsunade and Jiraiya," she announced.

"And you are?" asked Ino, looking confused.

Saki drew herself up. "Uchiha Saki, Jounin."

Neji looked at her. "I thought you were a chuunin."

"Tsunade-sama gave me an upgrade. Luckily, though, I don't have to teach twerps. I'm not fit for teaching." Saki shuddered. "Anyway, Sakura-san. Next week, Tsunade-sama says to meet Naruto and your new teammate on Training Field Seven. Neji, I really wanted to chat with you about something later." She fidgeted with the bandage on her head. "If you have the time."

Neji inclined his head. "Of course. If Hinata-sama has nothing to do now, I can speak with you now."

"No, I'd rather do it in private. Like, 'so that people won't hear you scream if I'm killing you' private." Saki looked at him with a grimace.

"It would put quite a damper on the day if you decided to brutally murder me," Neji said with amusement on his face. "Is Obito-san going to be there?"

Saki hesitated. "Yeah, and Kiba, Shika, you're welcome to come. I'd invite Naruto, but she's still either unconscious in the Summon realm or just recovering there."

"What about us?" Sakura demanded haughtily.

"I never liked you, and that's just from Naruto's stories of you," Saki said flatly before turning around. "Meet me at Naruto's, guys. Obito's bringing candy."

~:~

Deidara was lucky he was still in the Akatsuki, let alone not dead. Pein was pissed, and he was trying to salvage his reputation.

Sasori entered their room.

"You really screwed up."

Deidara's eye twitched.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," the blonde snapped, laying on his bed. "Shut up and let me sleep, Sasori."

Sasori growled. "You're not telling me something, Deidara."

Deidara glared at him. "I don't have to! Plus whatever I say you'll tell Leader-sama."

"I have to," Sasori replied, but nevertheless, he went silent.

Finally Deidara confessed. "I've been having the oddest feelings whenever I run into that chick. I can't seem to hurt her." Sasori said nothing. Deidara huffed and turned, his long hair bothering him. Sasori shifted.

"Deidara!"

Deidara turned over to look at him, irritation on his face. "What?"

Sasori stared at him.

"You're not listening!"

Deidara scoffed. "I am, you're not saying anything. Let me sleep before you go tattle to Leader-sama."

~:~

Naruto and Kikiya reached an agreement: Naruto would only call on Kikiya if she was in a life-or-death situation. Naruto wasn't in a life-or-death situation, as focused as she was on recovering; in fact, she was meditating, not letting anything bother her as she meditated in front of the toad statue.

Kikiya eyed the teenager.

"She's a natural," Kikiya whispered to Fukasaku.

"I can see," Pa retorted. "I assume you'll teach her your own Sage mode?"

The kitsune shook her head. "Not unless Father deigns to give her a kitsune form. We kitsune have our own brand of power." They watched. "You know what will eventually happen to her."

Fukasaku glanced at her.

"So does she. Sage mode will -"

"Only for a year longer."

Fukasaku found it hard to argue.

~:~

Neji found himself walking with Kiba and Shikamaru up to Naruto's crappy apartment. He tested the door, to see it open, and he smelled... Oranges. A scent that actually suited the other teen.

But then he realized it was Saki spraying that. And she was spraying it in Obito's face, but the spray just passed through him harmlessly.

"-fact that I will tell you when we're safe!"

Obito rolled his eyes. It was weird seeing two different colored eyes on one person, more so seeing that they were fully functional.

"How about this," he drawled. "I have a safe place in Kiri we can go to. Like, now."

Saki stopped spraying the orange stuff around and tossed it on the ground.

"Fine. Does it have ears?" Saki asked, glaring at him.

"I guess you could say four, but I think we can trust those ears," Obito replied.

"Fine. Neji, Kiba, Shika - you game for this?"

Neji nodded, and all at once Obito's eye seemed to suck them in. And him, too.

Right next to Kakashi and Iruka, who both stared at them.

Kakashi's face was fully revealed, too.

Saki went dark red and looked away. Neji looked away out of respect, and Kiba seemed subdued as he, too, looked away. Shikamaru just sighed and closed his eyes as Obito picked his jaw up from the ground.

"Dear kamis above," Obito sighed, rolling his eyes. "Tell Tsunade we'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"...don't mention how I look to anyone and you have a deal," Kakashi said.

"Hai!" everyone shouted.

They reappeared in a home, and a plate was thrown at their heads.

"Ah!" The group of Konohans were facing a group of rather nasty people... That were Kiri.

"Obito-kun." The young boy in the room sitting on the couch said his name with perfect calmness.

"What are you doing here, Madara?" The lady snapped.

Saki's eyes lit up. "You're the new Mizukage! Terumi Mei! Perfect example how bloodline users can become Kage!"

Neji sweatdropped. "Saki-san, the Tsuchikage is a Kekkei Tota user."

"But not a Kekkei _Genkai,_ until now!" Saki's eyes lit up with an almost feverish glow. "Seriously, next MUST be a doujutsu wielder, like Neji's! Or mine!"

"True," Neji conceded. "But I think your eyes would be better, seeing as you have pupils. I don't." Neji pointed at his eyes. "And if I made the Byakugan appear, and they carved my face into the mountain... With my cursed seal, too..."

The Konohans were silent as they thought about that for a whole minute.

"Whereas so long as you don't wear your glasses when they carve your face on the mountain and have your Sharingan activated, you won't look bad," Neji finished.

"Who would be so idiotic as to want something over their eyes with a Sharingan active on the freakin' Hokage Monument?" Kiba scoffed, Saki and Shika nodding in agreement.

Depression lines appeared over Obito.

Saki stared. "Dear kamis, Obito, please tell me you didn't!"

"It was one time," Obito sulked. But then he stopped, shook his head, and opened his mouth.

"Tobi is a good boi!"

Everyone in the room stared at a suddenly crimson-faced Obito. "Um, can we use your bedroom, Yagura-kun?"

Yagura waved his hand. "Just don't touch anything, Obito-kun."

"That was Madara!" Terumi Mei said, disregarding everything said about Sharingan. "And _Konoha shinobi!"_

"You don't visit me often. Obito-kun usually visits twice a week."

The Mizukage sighed, but then their hearing was blocked as they were ushered into a room. Without a sound, Obito placed a hand on the wall.

"Only those who are completely pure of intention can here us," Obito said as designs glowed across the room.

Saki nodded, then took a deep breath.

"Well, here goes." She took one end of the bandage and unwrapped it. Kiba gasped as what she was hiding underneath the bandage was finally shown. A single closed eye.

"My Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan, has several evolutionary forms. The original, with one tomoe; the photocopy part, the second tomoe, and the third part, the understanding part, which usually awakens with the second part." The teen Uchiha produced a piece of paper and drew three eyes in them, then, as she spoke, drew in each of the tomoe. The first eye had one, the second two, and the third three. "I awoke mine, as you know, when Naruto almost killed Shisui. In Uchiha, the awakening of the Sharingan is a milestone... But when using it, you have almost uncontrollable bouts of rage. I didn't fare well when I awoke mine, and I was cast out from the clan with almost nothing." Saki took a deep breath. "Sasuke awoke his not long afterwards. During the massacre, when his brother inflicted massive amounts of trauma on him. I was brought in by the iryo-nin I knew to see if he had awoken it, and I saw it had. However, I told the iryo-nin 'no'."

Obito's eyes were wide with disbelief. Saki held up her hand to stop any protests or interruptions. "It was trauma locked. So much stress had been put on his mind it locked itself. When I found out about the massacre by way of a secret report meant for the Kage library, the next to last change happened." Saki closed her eyes, then opened them. Two different patterns were shown. One looked like a clock, and the other one seemed to be pooled with blood. As they watched, the pattern moved like a liquid. It was kind of disgusting to watch.

"This eye," she pointed at her left, the one with the clock design, "can slow or speed up time. It's use is usually defensive, and can be extended to whatever I or my Susano'o is touching. I'll get to that in a minute," she added, scowling as Neji opened his mouth. "This one... This is the reason I'm telling you this. This eye can steal Kekkei Genkai, possibly Kekkei Tota."

" _Any?"_ Neji whispered.

Saki smiled at him reassuringly. "I won't steal yours without your permission, Neji, and I'm not sure what that would do to me if I stole another dojutsu."

"Another?" Obito spoke this time.

"Hai," Saki replied, her forehead eye opening and her regular ones closing. "I stole one part of a six-part dojutsu, known as the Rinnegan."

"Pein's dojutsu," Obito said, looking excited. "This could change everything! You -"

"I have one of _six,_ Obito," Saki said, looking amused. "The one that can absorb chakra."

"Oh," Obito wilted.

"So, Tobi thinks it's useless!"

"What _is_ that?!" Shikamaru demanded.

Obito sighed. "Guess it can't be helped then, huh? I had to show Iruka-san and Bakashi before I could live with them. Come on out, Tobi-kun."

His pale arm... Melted. Leaving nothing but a stub, and a figure with a white swirl for a face appeared.

"I'm Tobi!"

The sentient skin had all the working appendages, but was pretty damn thin, which explained why it had been acting like his arm and a skin cover for his leg.

Neji didn't touch it. Obito sat on the ground with them somewhat heavily. "Everyone, meet Tobi, my friend and only ally in the Akatsuki. My only _true_ ally."

"Hi," Neji said.

"Nice to meet you!" Saki nodded, not offering her hand.

"Yeah..." Kiba looked grossed out.

"Mendokuse. Hi," Shikamaru sighed.

Tobi drooped. "Tobi is sad... Tobi is a good boy, though!"

"Yes, Tobi, you're a good boy," Obito said.

Tobi sighed. "Tobi will go back."

"Tobi, you don't have -" Tobi melted back onto him, and Obito winced for a minute. Neji used his Byakugan, and was shocked to see that Obito's chakra was molding seamlessly with Tobi's. Just as he was going to ask how, the question died on his lips. His attention was brought to the ones in the living room, and there was red interspaced through the smallest of them.

"He's a jinchuuriki."

Obito coughed. "He is. And I was a fool."


	42. 42

Naruto was back on her feet a week later. She looked far healthier than she did, the burns having vanished.

"I've got to take it easy," she told Neji upon seeing him at the reunion table.

Neji smiled at her. _Actually_ smiled at her, and he got up and hugged her.

Surprised, the ones currently at the table stared.

Naruto patted his back uncomfortably.

Neji released her, coughing and bringing his countenance back to cold and indifferent.

Sakura appeared just then, stopping and staring at Naruto.

And then the pinkette bowed to Naruto and said, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I am sorry for blaming you for not bringing Sasuke back."

Naruto smiled easily. "Ah, don't worry about it, Sakura. Let's eat! Bill's on..." Naruto frowned and looked around the restaurant before grinning. "Asuma-sensei!"

Said sensei looked over and Naruto waved as everyone said "Thank you for the meal, Asuma-sensei!"

"Wait - I never said -"

His date, a woman who was definitely in _henge_ and was _totally_ Yuuhi Kurenai, stopped him.

"She just recovered," Kurenai informed him.

"Thanks, Kurenai-sensei!" the group chanted.

Kurenai stared at them. "How did you know?"

"Because you're the only one who would ever go on a date with him, probably," Saki said dryly as she appeared, dressed in her customary lab coat. "Hope you all don't mind me barging in on your reunion and all, I am, after all, a very good friend of Naruto's." Saki threw her arm around Naruto.

"Not at all," Ino said, sharing a confused look with Sakura and Hinata.

"Matte, Saki! I'm still wounded, don't hug me too tightly!"

Saki hugged her carefully. Then promptly slapped her so hard Naruto hit the ground.

Saki's chakra rose as she glared down at Naruto, fury on her face. Combined with her Mangekyou Sharingan and the beginning wisps of her Susano'o, it was no wonder Naruto went chalk white.

"You _ever_ put _us_ first like that again, and I'll kill you myself," Saki snarled at her friend. " _Do you understand me, Uzumaki Naruto?"_

Naruto swallowed nervously, quailing on the ground.

"H-hai!" she squeaked.

Saki's gaze softened. "I'm still glad you're alive," the older teen said, helping Naruto up. "Now budge up there, Sakura-san. I'm joining you Rookies."

Naruto sat beside her.

For the first few minutes, there was nothing but silence as everyone tried to get acclimated to Saki's presence.

"Saki-san," Hinata ventured. "How come you weren't at the Academy with Sasuke-kun?"

Saki looked up. "Oh, because I was already a Chuunin by the time I was of age to be a genin. Battlefield promotion."

"What?" Neji asked, frowning. "But we weren't in wartime."

Naruto dropped her head into her hands as Saki cackled.

"Well, you see, I was taking the genin exams the day of the Chuunin Exams that were in Kusagakure. And I snuck out of the village thanks to a little help from our favorite redhead, who was a blonde then, of course, and our favorite redhead snuck out with me..."

And Saki told them.

~:~

 _Several Years Ago (Before meeting Shisui)_

" _Wait!" Saki called to her jounin instructor, who walked even faster at her cry. "But - I just got promoted..." She watched as they left, the Chuunin not allowing her to pass even as they looked sympathetically at her tiny form wearing a Konoha headband. The child scowled, ever a little firecracker, and stormed off._

 _She'd only been taking the genin exams because a flyer had fallen in front of her. Any person born before the Kyuubi attack could apply for ninja-ship early, and it had been a valid date. It would had been invalid in two years, so Saki was glad she'd made it in time._

 _Saki spotted bright yellow peeking at her - bright yellow hair that belonged to the person she'd seen throwing the flyers into the air earlier that week!_

" _Oi!"_

 _The hair vanished. Saki started running, but stopped as soon as she entered the dead-end alley. Saki spotted shoes hiding behind a dumpster._

" _Oi, kid, I'm not going to hurt you, you know," Saki said, scowling. "I know you threw those flyers up. Why?"_

 _The kid didn't answer, and Saki sighed._

" _Look. I won't say anything to the Hokage if you can get me to Kusagakure, okay? Sound fair, kid?"_

 _The yellow hair popped up, and blue eyes stared at her warily. Definitely a girl, then. Saki doubted she knew how to get out of the village._

" _Sounds fair." Her voice was small._

 _Saki's jaw dropped._

" _But they have to go, first. Meet me here tonight."_

 _Saki noticed the ANBU._

" _Oi, ANBU-san. I got the gaki, I'm a genin." She tapped her hitai-ate. "And an Uchiha." She knew how to apply genjutsu, so she created one that made her eyes seem like the Sharingan swirled in them. "I think I can take her for the night."_

 _Whether or not the ANBU knew she was lying her ass off with the genjutsu, she knew she had succeeded in making him leave._

 _The girl stared at her in awe._

 _(Privately, Saki liked that look, but knew it was best not to get an over inflated head about these things.)_

" _I guess we could go now," the girl said quietly. "Come on." She opened a sewer cover, and Saki sighed._

 _Well, she wanted to become a Chuunin... Sacrifices had to be made._

 _The girl led her through several tunnels._

" _This one goes under the boundary," she said to Saki as they waded through it._

" _You're an orphan, right?" Saki asked. "Why haven't you used these tunnels to escape?"_

 _The girl looked at her, eyes wary. "I have food in Konoha."_

 _Saki bit her lip._

" _...Come to Kusa with me," she offered. "I'll be a chuunin, you'll be back before everyone knows your missing. Plus, I have a scroll we could leave." She offered up the scroll for the girl to see. "What's your name?"_

 _The blonde blinked. "Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo."_

" _Uchiha Saki!" Saki introduced._

 _Naruto smiled, then pointed towards a ladder in the middle of the muck. "Right there's the way out. We have to hurry or else we'll be seen. We're in direct view of Konoha's gates."_

 _Saki grinned. "No need to worry, I'm an Uchiha! We love genjutsu!"_

 _~"~_

 _When ANBU started to search, one certain ANBU ninja found an innocuous-looking scroll with Uchiha Saki's handwriting on it on top of a sewer grate._

Hokage-sama,

Sorry for leaving Konoha, but I really wanted to become a Chuunin already. Don't worry about Naruto, I'll just make sure she gets home, promise. If we both die then you can kill me. You can also kill me when I get home, too, but... I really wanted to be a Chuunin and my team, Team 1, was nominated, and cells are 4, and they left me and I needed a guide, but we'll be back soon!

With all my love!

Uchiha Saki and Uzumaki Naruto (who can't write so I, Uchiha Saki, wrote her name... Her scribble is beneath this, by the way.)

 _And the scribble turned out to be a picture of the worst illustration page ever in Jiraiya's 'Icha Icha Paradise' novels._

 _Needless to say, that particular jounin was very impressed that a three-year-old could recall a very indecent picture well enough to draw it._

 _~:~_

 _Getting directions was hard, as Saki and Naruto were both covered with sewer slime, but somehow Saki managed to catch up with her team._

 _Said team stared as she approached with a grin, another person, and smelling like shit._

" _Hey, team!" Saki's anger managed to fill itself in her cheerful-sounding voice. "Let's go fight some other genin, hmm?"_

" _You graduated_ yesterday _," her jounin instructor, a man named Namiashi Raido, said with a horrified face._

" _I know, and you left me. Yesterday," she reminded him sharply._

" _Who's the kid?" one of her teammates asked._

 _Saki smiled at him. "Die."_

 _No, they were not a team._

 _~:~_

 _Naruto clung to Saki as other genin ran like chickens with their heads cut off around them. Saki herself was forming slow handsigns, handsigns her hands had formed dozens of times, but aborted right before the final sign. The jutsu was the signature Great Fireball of her clan._

" _Left!" Naruto cried. Saki retaliated by turning to her right and letting the kid handle it. She was a wicked close combat kind of girl; Saki knew the kid would be a great shinobi one day._

 _Saki finished her handsigns, and took a deep breath, feeling the buildup of heat._

 _She breathed out, fire exploding from her mouth, and leaving it tasting like ash. Saki didn't stop to look as a Kusa ninja stopped one of the attackers from killing Naruto at her one minute of inattention._

" _Oi, Konoha gaki! What are you still doing here?!"_

" _I'm helping! What's going on?!" Saki demanded of the Kusa nin._

" _Well... There are those of us who wanted to host the Chuunin Exams, and those of us who didn't," replied the Kusa ninja distractedly. "You should get your blonde friend out of here before they take her."_

" _Nobody's gonna take me," Naruto announced. "Saki said I was too cute."_

 _Saki almost melted. She was adorable._

 _The man sighed. "Look, just go. Us Kusa nin can handle the rest... Wait, that fireball. How many more can you do?"_

 _Saki shrugged._

" _I don't know, but I can do a lot," she assumed. She'd seen the jounin in her village do two, so she would do three more! "Maybe three."_

 _She ran through the handsigns and threw one more at the invaders. It was a little weaker than before, but twice the size of her mother's._

" _Boom!" Naruto yelled._

 _Another. Definite chakra loss._

" _Bang," Naruto whispered as a deafening bang hit their ears._

 _And one more, in the direction the Kusa nin pointed._

 _Saki passed out after that._

 _~:~_

 _When she woke, Naruto was on Raidou's back, and he was talking to himself. Naruto wasn't listening, as it appeared, because she called Saki's name with genuine joy._

" _Hi, Naruto!" Saki smiled weakly._

" _Saki-san, sleep. I'll carry Naruto-san," Raidou said to her._

 _Saki noticed that her teammates weren't there, and knew what happened. They must have died._

 _She felt terrible._

 _~:~_

 _Naruto clutched Saki's shirt as Saki stood in front of the Hokage._

" _Ah, Saki-san."_

 _Immediately, the girl prostrated herself on the floor, spewed out pleas for them not to punish Naruto, to punish her, to do what they would - and then she stopped when she heard her clan head speak to her._

" _Get off the floor, Uchiha Saki."_

 _Uchiha Fugaku glared down at her as she did_

" _I heard you fought well in Kusa. Well done," Fugaku said, a frown still evident on his face. He had a frowny face, and to her eternal embarrassment, Naruto said that._

 _To his face._

" _Uchiha-san, why do you have an eternal frowny face?"_

" _Naruto, that's my clan head!" Saki yelled, smacking her on the head playfully._

 _Naruto held her head, but tilted it curiously. "A clan head? What does that mean?" she asked._

 _Saki sighed, and impatient, she rudely pointed at the uchiwa fan._

" _That's an uchiwa fan. If you see it on items, or on clothes people wear, they're more than likely part of the Uchiha clan. I am part of that clan. Fugaku-sama leads my clan."_

" _Oh," Naruto said. Her big blue eyes stared at her. "But you don't have no uchiwa fan on you."_

" _That's why I am here," Fugaku said, smiling at the girl._

 _Saki's jaw dropped. Fugaku-sama, smiling?! It vanished as he looked away from her._

 _Fugaku turned to Saki and handed her a wooden uchiwa fan, symbolizing she now had the right to wear the uchiwa symbol on her clothing._

 _She bowed to her clan head._

" _And, Saki-san."_

 _Saki turned to the Hokage._

" _Do not expect to reach jounin for several years yet."_

 _A green Chuunin vest was handed to her, and Saki trembled as she took it._

 _Then she turned to Naruto and picked her up, hugging her in a death hug._

" _You're awesome, Naruto-chan! Thank you for helping me to become a genin, and a chuunin!"_

 _Naruto looked clueless, and Saki sweatdropped._

 _~:~_

"...and we've been friends ever since," finished Saki, smirking and patting a mortified Naruto.

Naruto was red-faced, as most of the Rookies were roaring with laughter.

"Okay, I was three, okay? Jeez."

"Boom?" Ino said with a snort, doubling over as she fell into more laughter.

Neji smirked into his drink. "It must've been cute."

His voice was low, but nevertheless heard by the whole table.

Naruto ended up choking on her water and getting up, going even redder. Saki snickered, breaking the silence.

"I think I'm going to go throw myself off a cliff now!" Naruto announced, racing away. Neji waited one second, before jumping up, calling after her.

"Wait - I didn't mean it - I did, actually, but - Naruto! Listen to me!"

Saki doubled over in laughter, tears starting to come to her eyes as she did so.

Ino was crying, Sakura was chuckling, and Hinata was desperately trying to stop laughing while all the boys just sat there, frowning. Confused over what had just happened.

"She was adorable, though," Saki grinned brilliantly after all the laughter had faded. "I count myself very lucky to have known her."

"You must have known her through her childhood," Sakura observed. "How was she?"

At that, Saki's smile faded before dropping completely.

"She didn't fare very well," Saki admitted, sorrow in her eyes and words. "She might have pretended otherwise, but her mental state... I think it was very fragile back then, even with me. It helped I had my brother -" Saki froze up. She swallowed and fixed her eyes on her plate, and continued. " - my brother, who taught her quite a bit."

Shikamaru's fork dropped against his plate.

"You said he was your cousin."

Saki swallowed. "It's not as if I could tell anyone we were related," Saki replied, her voice hardening. "Fugaku-sama made my mother break all ties with him after I was born! He didn't want him to be associated with me, who might never gain her Sharingan! So the story went he was an orphan. Only the closest of neighbors knew. I didn't even tell Naruto until after that incident with my Sharingan awakening!"

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, confused. Saki sighed and rubbed her face.

"The Uchiha clan," she said, exhaustion plain in her voice, "is known for their visual prowess, their ocular jutsu. However, didn't you notice something when looking through history, of all the names given to each notable Uchiha? Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izanagi - tell me what they all had in common."

She stared around the table, waiting for someone to answer her.

"They are all male." Shino's answer was quiet, and Saki nodded.

"Yep, they are," she agreed. "And why not, when the doujutsu is passed from the father's line? If the mother wields the Sharingan but marries a non-Sharingan user and gives birth to one girl and one boy, it's possible that neither will awaken it, because passed through the mother it's a dormant gene. Let's just keep this unemotional and say it's complicated." Saki twirled her chopsticks before standing up. "Look, I've got to go. Have stuff to do, after all."

She dropped her chopsticks and hurried away.


	43. 43

Naruto successfully ran away from Neji; her heart was beating erratically and she needed space.

"Excuse me."

She jerked, gasping, at the two who had dropped down next to her. Sai and Shin, she believed they were called.

"Tsunade-sama wants you, pretty lady," the one with lavender hair - Shin, she thought - said with a wink.

Sai sighed, looking fed up.

Naruto giggled. "Sure," she answered with a grin. The one with lavender hair smiled at her, swept her off of her feet, and leaped up.

Wind rushed past her ears. She gasped as they alighted on a nearby roof. Naruto could only imagine what the civilians were thinking, and Shin started to run. She found it very odd being carried like this, but she supposed it was a faster way for them to move.

They entered through the open window, which was shut quickly after them. Tsunade looked irritated.

"What's with the long face, Grandma?" Naruto said.

"Brat!" Tsunade's eyes flicked away and looked at the two ninja in front of her desk. The Elders.

Naruto felt her face twist into something she hoped was a polite look of cool indifference.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked, itching to go for her sword. She highly doubted that Tsunade would want her to blatantly murder the Elders, after all.

"We know you do not exist under Konoha law, however, if you were to do something for us, it would save your friend Saki from having to do it." The male Elder exuded smugness.

Naruto stared at him for a few minutes, clenching one of her fists.

 **Kill them!** Cheered Kurama.

 _I can't,_ Naruto grumbled. _They hold a lot of power, and unless Tsunade-sama finds evidence to the contrary, they're clean. Plus, with the fact that the ANBU are duty-bound to guard them, and I'm still recovering. One wrong move, Kurama, and I could be down and out for the count._

Kurama grumbled. **I want them dead, because they're always agreeing with that damn warhawk.**

 _And he's dead, so... They hold ALL the power Danzou held._ Naruto unclenched her fist.

"You can't order her to do it," Tsunade said, looking like she knew it was useless. "She's not a shinobi of Konoha -"

"- but I was born here, I still owe Konoha a lot," Naruto interrupted. The shock of everyone in the room was nearly enough to make her smile. "It's why I'm still here and not traveling, after all. I will marry whomever you wish me to. With several conditions." Naruto smirked. "Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei have to agree, I still get my freedom - as I am the Queen of the Uzumaki, I am duty-bound to go to Uzushio, after all." She kept her smirk under wraps. "And finally, I don't have to do it until after I get Sasuke back. However long that will take."

The Elders glanced at each other. Tsunade was smirking - Naruto had simply guessed, really. But she was dead on.

"We will consider the first and last request," the Elder woman said. "But your second request is granted."

Naruto smiled widely.

"You'll accept the first one and last one, too," she said. "Because if you don't, well... Poor Saki-chan, poor me, we're both going to be locked away in a tower in a random forest. Nobody will ever come and find us!" Naruto pouted exaggeratedly. "And Sasuke... Well... I guess I don't have to go after him any time soon... I mean, there is that promise I made Sakura, but I could always wait until Sasuke drops dead to bring him home. Is that what you want, Elders? Because really, I could also kidnap Saki, take her to Uzushio with me. And no matter what, you can't demand her from us, because really, you don't want to screw with my people." Naruto was bluffing. _Really_ bluffing. It seemed to do the trick, as the Elders swallowed and nodded.

"We accept your conditions."

Naruto's smile returned.

"I'm glad!" she said, suddenly chipper. "Did you have something to say to me, Tsunade-sama?"

"No - ah, yes I do," Tsunade said, glancing at a paper. "Jiraiya's going to be doing some research in Wave soon, and he wants to see you and Saki. He's taking you on an S-Rank mission. Something not for civilian ears," she added, shooting a dark and quite ugly look at the two civilians, who huffed and shuffled out.

But not before the woman turned back to her.

"We will keep 'Ne' off of your hands."

The woman flounced off.

"I hate them," Naruto immediately growled. "I want to kill something."

Naruto took one look around her office, and Tsunade sighed.

"Take it out on my desk. Izumo and Kotetsu are probably getting me a new one anyway - I usually toss it out the window when they leave."

Naruto grinned, some ANBU popped down, cleared her desk, and Naruto swung her Kyuubi-enchanced blade with all the hatred she could muster, chopping the desk up into tiny, tiny pieces.

She felt a smidge better when she was done, staring at the pile of splinters that littered the floor.

"Ja ne!" She said, making her escape before Tsunade told her to clean it up.

~:~

Sai coughed. "Hokage-sama, if I might ask... Why are we not getting Sasuke-san back now?"

Tsunade didn't take her eyes off of the pile of splinters. "Because Jiraiya thought it would be better for her to learn something specific to the Toads. Just in case he wasn't there to teach her later."

Sai swallowed. To him, it sounded like Jiraiya was planning on doing something dumb.

~:~

Once Naruto told him she was leaving to see Uzushio with Saki, then to possibly get training for both the Akatsuki and Sasuke, Neji was at a loss. He didn't quite know what to do, now that he wasn't quite a Konoha shinobi.

So he walked around, but stopped upon seeing his cousin trying to finish the Thousand Needles.

It gave him something to do while Hanabi and her father were away.

"Hinata-sama. If I may help you?" It may have been a Head Family technique, but hey. Hiashi-sama had grudgingly taught him that technique after he'd proved his worth with the Kaiten.

"I'm practicing the Thousand Needle Jyuuken - not something a -"

"I know," Neji interrupted. "Your father and Hanabi are gone, and won't be back in a month. Besides, if it helps the clan, why not?"

Hinata stared at him for a minute, looking doubtful, and Neji couldn't blame her.

"First Needle!"

Hinata sprang into action.

~:~

Kiba wasn't all that bored. He'd missed his family a lot. So he was helping around without complaining, his mind blissfully blank.

Here, he was at home, ninken or no.

"Oi, Kiba! Wash Shiromaru, would you?"

"Hai!"

~:~

Shikamaru took this time to go sky watching with the deer. He'd have to bring them in when it got dark, but for now, the deer were okay. He simply watched the clouds and thought of a lot of things - a lot of things and nothing at all.

"Shikamaru, lunch is ready!"

He sighed to himself. It was a bit more boring than running all over the Elemental Countries.

~:~

Saki's eyes were bound as her body adjusted to her having more chakra. Thanks to Obito and his very hidden supply of Uchiha Sharingan eyes, they'd found a close enough match for it to work. She walked around Konoha, getting used to it -

"Saki!"

Saki screamed and was about to throw a kunai when it was blocked and taken out of her hand.

"Jeez, calm down! I was making a ruckus, thought you heard me!"

Saki breathed deeply, in and out. "S-sorry," she said, stuttering a little. "You just managed to scare the shit out of me."

"Yatta!" Naruto gloated, jumping up from the sounds of it. "Anyway, want to come with me to see Uzushio - er, visit, VISIT. VISIT Uzushio."

"Sure. Think you could pull the top bandage off of my forehead when we leave Konoha? When are we going, anyway?"

"Now, if you like," Naruto said easily. "I got supplies, kunai, my sword."

Saki shrugged. "Sure." Naruto kept a hand on Saki's shoulder, and Saki once again marveled at the easiness with which Naruto had with her. Saki had no problem with the Kyuubi - the Kyuubi seemed to have a problem with her eyes, which she understood, but other than that... Saki understood that she hadn't been there for Naruto. Her nerdishness had always gotten in the way of teaching Naruto anything, and Naruto had always left her to it.

She felt that familiar block of guilt in her throat. She wanted to explain to Naruto everything, but she couldn't.

She couldn't make any more excuses. Nobody but Kyuubi had been there for her.

"I'd like to tell you something, when we get out of the village," Naruto said, uncertainty in her voice.

"Okay," Saki said. "So do I."

Naruto chuckled. "Okay! We're at the gates now."

"Not right out of the village, Naruto. Jeez."


	44. 44

They camped out in the woods, and Saki took a deep breath. "Can you take off the forehead bandage?"

Naruto did so, and an eye was revealed. It opened to reveal a Rinnegan eye.

"The Kyuubi says I can tell you his name," Naruto revealed. The Rinne eye focused on her.

"Really?" Saki sounded interested.

"Yeah." Naruto steeled herself. Tell only Saki. "Please don't make him regret letting me, Saki. I asked him if I could tell you last week - three weeks after he told me I could tell only those who I trust. I want to tell you." She swallowed and leaned next to her ear.

 _Kurama_.

She leaned back, hoping Saki didn't react adversely.

"Naruto... I'm sorry." Saki's Rinne eye was suddenly crying, and Naruto screamed.

"What do you mean, you're sorry?!" she yelled after scrambling back. Seeing the eye in the middle of her friend's forehead crying looked... Wrong. Just wrong. Disgusting. Ew. Tears fell from her nose and overall... Ew. That's why she'd screamed and scrambled back.

"I've been a poor friend! I've let my books keep me company, and forced myself to pretend like nothing was wrong... I have an ego the size of Konoha's Monument... And now you're honoring me with your lifelong partner's name... It hurts to think I could've been there for you when I wasn't on missions!"

Naruto blinked. "Saki... You may be an Uchiha, but I never thought of you as ignorant or selfish -"

"But I was! I should've put you first! I had Shisui, and Itachi and kaa-san and I talked about them all the time to you, bemoaning the fact I got tossed out and - and - you didn't have that!"

Naruto chuckled. "I had a kaa-san, and a tou-san eventually." Saki sniffled. "Iruka-sensei and I. He was my kaa-san when I found out he and Kaka-sensei were together. But... Even before that. Kyuubi's been my parent since I turned three."

Saki's head jerked up. "I thought you met him after -"

"I had to lie. If Sandaime-jiisan found out, I would have gone insane. If he'd found out that I'd been 'influenced' by the Kyuubi when I was three, he would have made Inoichi-san make the Kyuubi go silent." Naruto smiled and tugged her knees to her chest. "I understand why Kikiya was so angry when she found out. Kikiya wanted her father, and a part of me wanted to tell her to go to hell because he was my parent. But... I think I understand her better. I guess... That's why I was so afraid of Deidara in Ame - because I'm scared that if Kyuubi goes away, then I'll go crazy if I survive. I can't remember a time when Kyuubi wasn't there for me, and to be honest, Saki, I can't really remember a time when you weren't there, either. Unlike everyone else in Konoha, the Uchiha didn't hate me that much. They didn't particularly like me, either, but they tolerated me. That's what I loved about your clan, and I, too, was sad when I heard the news. But I was angry and I was also jealous, because at least you knew your parents." Naruto swallowed. "And... After Kyuubi showed me how to take his chakra and to modify the seal to where he didn't have to live in a sewer... He showed me my kaa-san and tou-san, and I can swear to you that they smell like the living, despite the fact that they're chakra constructs, and I can feel my kaa-san now, waiting to have a chat about my day. So I'm no longer jealous."

Saki's eye was turned down.

"In fact, I'd like you to meet my kaa-san, Saki."

Naruto held out her hand.

~:~

Saki and Naruto walked into Wave, only to skirt to the side and run on the water. It took the better part of a day, but Naruto and Saki both made it to Uzushio.

"Wow..."

Lots of progress had been made. And more people were standing there. Most of them were young, but there were a few incorporating the seals into the place.

Saki took it all in with her normal eyes.

"Holy shit."

There was a cry.

"Naruto-sama!"

An Uzumaki ran down - Nia, upon first sight. "Naruto-sama - Uchiha-san - please follow me. They want proof."

Naruto blinked. "You want me to sit in the throne again?"

Nia nodded, looking slightly troubled.

"Okay," Naruto agreed, startling Nia. "Just as long as it doesn't do that thing it did last time."

Saki sniggered. "I'd've paid to see that."

"Oh, shut up, Saki." Naruto's lips quirked into a reluctant smile anyway.

Naruto walked among the others, noticing that most of them were younger. As in, they had only recently been born. A redheaded girl stood alone near a pillar, and she had a Cursed Seal.

Naruto wondered how she could sense that with just a look at her, but flicked the knowledge away dismissively as she entered the Throne Room again. It felt... More alive.

She made her way confidently to the throne. Again her finger was pricked, and she carefully sat down.

There was little to no reaction. Naruto felt a mild tingle in her body, a little thrill of power. It was like her sync mode with Kurama, only... More. She realized that this was probably a test, and she shoved that power away, ignoring it for the time being. She knew it was there, but cared not about using it; simply knowing it was there was hard enough.

And as if by magic, information sank into her mind. Complicated swirls appeared, and she recognized them as seals.

And then images. Images about a girl with dark red hair being hidden in a house with several men Uzumaki - to protect her - and how the island protected that house as an outsider group came to hurt the monarchs of the island, and succeeded in poisoning the monarchs. Naruto saw the child grow in fast-forward, show off a child... Generations grew up, not knowing their heritage as successors to the throne. She saw the casualties thrown at the island surrounded by whirlpools, and she saw her mother being taken right before Uzushio's destruction. The whirlpools stopped protecting the island, the lone bridge made of seals and wood sank overnight.

And she saw her own death several times over. Several many possibilities.

When she blinked, the information sank into her mind. And she understood. Well, most of it; she didn't dwell on her own deaths. One was pretty damn impossible, anyway.

Naruto nodded. "I see." She stood and examined the floor. Two of the symbols appeared, and Naruto smiled. "Ah, there it is!" She withdrew her katana and sliced her hand, then put it on the first seal, pushing chakra into it.

A rumbling was heard, and quite a while later, when Naruto was getting both ticked off and tired, it stopped. The island was pretty deserted now, so she wasn't too worried as she sliced her hand up again and set her hand on the other and pushed more of her chakra into it.

Another rumbling started, and this one faded away only to where only a faint rumbling was heard.

She looked for the last and final seal. Those looking across the ocean to Uzushio, from whatever shore, would be the ones to witness the final act to show the world that the Uzumakis lived. It was dark by now.

She found it, hidden by the door. She supposed it would've been too obvious had it been next to the throne, and thus easily destroyed. It wasn't destroyed, just had been deactivated when it became obvious that they were going to lose. She knelt down and sliced her palm once more.

She pushed chakra into it.

~:~

The Raikage happened to be enjoying the seaside for once while a Kage Bunshin endured the office. It was night, very cool, and visibility expanded for miles.

And then it happened. A shimmering white glow on the horizon... And the Raikage felt dread.

After all, it was Kumo who had helped to destroy Uzushio.

~:~

Maruboshi Kosuke was old enough to have met the Shodai. He was considered an old guy now, a jokester and on the rare occasion, a prankster, but not even he would joke about the time Uzushio fell.

Nobody on his patrol team - and possibly alive - recalled the grim news when Uzu fell. Nobody but Kosuke.

He recalled standing at this post and seeing the shimmering white barrier of the Uzumaki for the first time. He recalled the awe - the Uzumaki were awesome! - but he recalled it flickering, like in a code, and it went dark. He'd never seen the barrier like that, shimmering white, before that night, and he'd assumed that it was just an issue with the barrier.

But he'd realized that the barrier had shown white and flickered because Uzushio was going dark. Uzushio had fallen.

He thought that the seal had been disrupted or destroyed and that's why it had appeared for the first time in living memory.

And as he reminisced, he spotted white. He blinked. It was still there. The barrier of the Uzumaki shone white, and it brightened.

Kosuke must have frightened his teammates by smiling so wildly and whooping like he was a boy again, but really - _the Uzumaki were back._

He was lucky to have lived for so long.

~:~

Jiraiya of the Sannin had a moment of idiocy as he excused himself to look out the window. Good thing, too.

His sake dish fell to the floor. He knew this light well.

Uzushiogakure.

"To my granddaughter!" he roared, startling the whole tavern. "For the revival of Uzushiogakure!"

"Who's your granddaughter, old man?" Momochi Zabuza asked, hugging his girlfriend, and lazily toasting to whoever this idiot's granddaughter was.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Zabuza spat his sake all over Haku.

"That eyesore did WHAT?!"

"The hero of Wave, minna!" Tsunami called. "She did something magnificent!"

Nobody would notice until later that a bridge connected Nami no Kuni to Uzushio.

~:~

Naruto blinked at the morning sunlight. "Does it seem windier?"

"Of course it does, you moron!" Saki thwacked her head. "Look!" Naruto looked where she was pointing. Whirlpools, hundreds of feet in diameter, dotted the coastline.

It looks almost as beautiful as it was back then, Kurama noted.

Naruto smiled. I wonder if anyone's noticed? She thought for a minute. "Yo, Nia. I learned this skill in Suna. Mind if I stay here?"

Nia shook her head. "No, I do not. It is your island."

Naruto beamed. "It's our island." She did the Hare and Dragon handsigns, bit her thumb and poured out chakra. An exact copy of her appeared, and her copy grinned at her and waved at the shocked group around her. "Saki-chan and I can't stick around, but I will stick around using myself." She pointed at her copy. "And you!" Naruto pointed at the Cursed Seal girl, who looked mildly afraid. "Tell Orochimaru to keep his snakey hands to himself, or I will deal with him." Her voice grew cold as she finished her sentence, and her eyes hard.

The girl shrank into herself as several Uzumaki looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Saki thumped Naruto on the back.

Naruto yelped. "S-saki!"

"My little brat... You've grown so much!" Saki said, looking tearful and wiping away an imaginary tear.

Naruto deadpanned at her friend. "You're not my mother, Saki."

Saki smiled. "Nope, I'm your friend." She paused. "Isn't that your grandfather?"

Everyone looked to the bridge, where Jiraiya leaned against the railing near Uzushio's entrance and exit.

"Jiraiya?" Nia gasped, bringing out a familiar orange book. "Think he's sign my Icha Icha?"

Naruto sweatdropped as she listened to the comments.

"Guys, he's waiting for us, we have to go train with him!" Naruto called over the din. "But next time, okay?" she smiled and winked at them. "Come on, Saki!"

Saki rolled her eyes heavenward. "I still can't believe that you're letting me stay with you when you got banished because of my idiot distant cousin."

"I still can't believe you're a raging psycho, yet I'm still friends with you," Naruto replied sweetly.


	45. 45

Uchiha Sasuke ignored pretty much everything. He lived to train, and that was it.

But now, as Orochimaru called him and Kabuto to listen to the approaching Karin's report, he wondered if this was really what he wanted - to kill Naruto, the link between him and Konoha, and destroy Itachi? To kill Itachi, who filled him with such anger and revenge at the mere thought?

Karin entered, bowed to Orochimaru, and spoke.

"The reports are true, Orochimaru-sama. Uzumaki are alive and returning to Uzushio."

Sasuke paused at that.

"And who is leading them?" Orochimaru knew, it seemed. He glanced at Sasuke with an amused little smirk on his face.

"I believe... An Uzumaki, but she was with someone. An Uchiha, I think - Uzumaki-sam -, er, the Uzumaki called her 'Saki'."

Sasuke's jaw dropped. Saki...

Sasuke stood, his eyes flashing into his Sharingan.

"Also... She ordered me to tell you to, and I quote this, Orochimaru-sama," Karin said, looking terrified. "She told me to tell you to 'keep your snakey hands to yourself, or I will deal with you'. Her speaking, sir."

Orochimaru looked vaguely disappointed. "Ah, I see... Any other news?"

Karin swallowed. "I passed by where the Uzumaki shrine stood, Orochimaru-sama. It was there, but no outsiders can get in by anyone but the Queen's permission."

"And who is the queen?" Orochimaru questioned.

"N-naruto, Orochimaru-sama."

Sasuke's chakra rose, anger in his eyes. Saki was still alive and didn't care about the clan and was living it up with Naruto -

"It seems, from my viewpoint, that Uchiha Saki is the only Konoha ninja fully associated with Naruto, Orochimaru-sama," Karin added. "Naruto is no longer a Konoha ninja."

That was news to everyone in the room, except, it seemed, to Kabuto. He looked mildly confused and that was it.

"Oh?" Orochimaru asked, leaning forward. "Do tell."

"She wears a hitai-ate, but it has no village symbol on it," Karin answered. "I also overheard Saki-san saying something about her getting banished because of an Uchiha, and of Saki-san being a raging psycho, but that was before they had to meet up with the white-haired man, Jiraiya. Apparently he's her grandfather?"

Orochimaru was frozen.

"The genetics," he muttered. "Of course Tsunade had Namikaze genes, her father was one... How could I have been such a fool?! Namikaze Minato! That means... Jiraiya and Tsunade are together. How quaint." Orochimaru gave a sickly smirk. "Sasuke-kun. If I could get you to capture the girl, alive... I would like to perform experiments on her. You can grab your dear cousin as bait, if you wish it."

Sasuke cooled his temper. "Che. I'm stuck with the stupid jobs. All I really need to do is lie to Naruto's face."

Really, it was that simple. He stalked out, a frown on his face, as he recalled the day he and everyone at the Academy realized she was a girl. Or, at least, the people in his class.

 _He had walked to the Academy, as alone as ever, and had seen everyone taunting the yellow-haired boy. He hated the boy - he was useless and weak. Iruka-sensei treated the boy like everyone else during school, but Sasuke had seen them once. Iruka-sensei had taken him to ramen._

" _Baka, you look dumb in those clothes!"_

 _Sasuke privately thought he did, too. Orange suited the boy, but the jumpsuit was too much._

 _Naruto glared at them angrily. "Don't call me baka, baka!"_

" _Why don't you wear regular clothes, huh? You'd look more like a boy like that!" laughed one of the kids._

" _I don't want to look like a boy!" the boy shouted. There was something off. He seemed... Upset._

" _What, so you wanna look like a girl?" laughed the same boy._

" _I AM A GIRL!"_

 _His - no, her - shout echoed, and she tugged at her hair. Now that she'd yelled that, the reasons for her not going into the boys' room and mysteriously never taking her shirt off whenever they went to the log across the river made absolute sense. The girl went to both the girl classes and the regular taijutsu sparring lessons... All in all, Iruka-sensei treated her just how she wanted to be treated - either that or because she could turn into a boy on some days and others she was a girl, but... That was impossible, right?_

" _Sandaime-jiji said I can transform and be a girl or a boy!" she snapped at the shocked children. "He says it's my Kek- Keeki Genkey."_

" _Kekkei Genkai," Sasuke corrected icily._

" _Yeah, that!" Naruto glared at them defiantly. "If you don't like it, take it up with the Hokage!"_

" _Everyone inside!" Iruka-sensei called. "And Naruto, stop taunting them!"_

" _But, Iruka-sensei! They said that I shouldn't have gotten this thing!"_

 _Iruka blanched at the outfit. "Naruto - that's the..."_

" _Plus, I didn't get it! Jiji-san did!"_

 _Iruka-sensei faked a smile. "...best jumpsuit I've ever seen!" He lied. Blatantly. And here he was, saying lying was bad!_

 _Everyone but Naruto sweatdropped. Mostly because Naruto turned to the boys, shoved her finger in their faces, and yelled, "See?! Iruka-sensei thinks it's great!"_

 _She ran inside, and Sasuke hated her._

So yes, everyone in their year at the Academy had known she was a girl. She hadn't let her hair grow out, and yes, she was, more often than not, a guy at the Academy.

And she'd known Kakashi-sensei well, when he became their sensei. Sasuke had always felt a sense of vindictive pleasure whenever Kakashi focused on him more than Naruto.

And now, she was getting powered up, created a false Queen persona, and had his only cousin left alive with her.

Saki, who Sasuke had always been jealous of. Saki, who'd vanished. Saki, who was Naruto's companion.

His Sharingan flared. "I'm coming for you," he vowed, thinking of Naruto, and what he'd do to her after Orochimaru was done with her.

~:~

Naruto felt a shiver work down her spine as she walked with Jiraiya in the direction of Iwa. She paused, and looked toward Otogakure.

"What is it?" Saki asked, her onyx eyes alert.

"I feel something," was all Naruto said. She waited there for a minute, then shrugged. "I don't know what it was, it just felt strange."

"This is an ideal place," Jiraiya said, scanning the woods. "Saki, you will be coming, but you'll have to enter through your own summons."

"I don't have one," Saki replied, puzzled.

"You will. Copy my handsigns." Saki's Sharingan swirled into being, and she matched his hands sign for sign. Then he did not bite his thumb, making Naruto curious, called out the jutsu, and made to slam his hand on the ground. Saki followed through, a summoning seal appearing on the ground, and a poof of smoke later she was gone.

"Will she be back?" Naruto asked, kind of worried.

"Maybe," Jiraiya said.

"Maybe?!"

~:~

Saki landed in a world with dark skies. She expected to be eaten almost immediately, only to hear slithering.

"I am not going to summon snakes!" she burst out.

"We aren't our small, flightless cousins," hissed a voice.

Oh, crap. Saki's eyes widened in disbelief. "...You're _dragons_."

"At least someone guesses correctly." An eye opened up. "What is your title?"

Saki bit her lip. Something hers. Like - Sharingan no Kakashi, or the Copy Ninja. The Sharingan wasn't just hers, but... She had two different Mangekyou, so...

" _Mangekyou no Me no Saki_ ," She said to the dragon firmly. Saki of the Kaleidoscope Eye.

The dragon peered at her.

"You are the first to say such a thing, Mangekyou no Me no Saki. Very well. We shall be your partners." A scroll was tossed at her, and she bit her thumb, signing her name in blood. She blinked as she recognized Senju Tobirama's signature, but shrugged. The stupid feud had not been born in her.

(Her BFF was a Senju herself - or half, anyway, after all.)

And the sky lightened. Showing dragons. Dragons that were big, dragons that were long...

Saki was in awe.

"Sugoi!"

"Now, Mangekyou no Me no Saki - let us begin your training. Show me your fastest run."

Saki found herself obeying as a big-ass fireball the size of Kaze no Kuni was aimed at her retreating back.


	46. 46

**Guest asked:**

:When and WHY was Neko "missing" her mask, and WHAT was Jiraiya's REQUEST!?

 **When Tsunade became Hokage, she changed the masks. And it wasn't Jiraiya's request, it was Neko's request. Neko - while Jiraiya was Hokage for that very brief period while Tsunade was in the summon world - took advantage of Tsunade's absence to request her mask back.**

 **Guest also asked:**

:What is going to eventually happen to Naruko in the future!?

 **I can't answer that yet. I don't want to spoil it for the rest of the readers. Don't worry, like with before with Danzou's endgame, it will be in another arc. I have to wrap up this one first.**

 **~angelsaugh**

 **~:~**

Naruto's adventure was quite a bit less adventurous. She only had to learn the frog taijutsu, which made itself adapt, and the Sage Mode of the frogs.

"Now, because of your situation, normally we wouldn't allow this." Naruto hunched slightly. "But, because of it, Kikiya plans on asking her father if you can learn kitsune Sage mode."

Naruto looked at Kikiya, who huffed and turned her head.

"I can't promise anything, stupid human," she informed Naruto frostily.

"...I didn't say anything," Naruto said blankly.

Kikiya huffed and looked at her. "If you are accepted, you will have to wear your hair like your master's."

Naruto looked at her grandfather. He wore his hair in a cool way.

"Okay," Naruto agreed.

Kikiya placed a hand on her heart, closing her eyes. Chakra traveled down her arm and Naruto gasped.

It was like every cell in her body was cooling down.

Kikiya's eyes widened as she looked at Naruto. "Oh... Yeah, I forgot!"

Naruto frowned as Kikiya pushed more of her chakra into her.

And Naruto ended up passing out.

~:~

Getting the hang of switching into her dimension, then her summons' dimension was not easy. There were many differences: the gravity of the Summon dimension had far less boundaries, and Fukasaku had been able to spare her from the snakes' wrath by explaining that she was an idiot, and while Naruto had taken offense to that, she understood it was necessary.

Now, however, she was back in her own dimension, stuck within the laws of her own gravity. She was in the middle of a clearing, laying down and trying to adjust. Gravity sucked.

And then there was the mission Jiraiya had left her with. A mission with a bunch of Kumo ninja, to go and help a priestess in the Land of Ogres.

Naruto hadn't actually ever looked at a map before... But she wondered if it was actually on the map.

The mission called for her to change into a male, meet up with the captain, Darui, under the guise of a Konoha ninja. Allowing that the captain didn't kill her because it was practically standard practice, Naruto was to remind them of the grudging treaty the Raikage was to sign because of the incident of Hyuuga Hizashi being found alive in Kumo land, help them keep the priestess alive, then get a fourth of the reward from the Raikage.

She was definitely going to go as a boy. A) it made sense, and B) she'd kicked the Raikage's ass. She didn't want this 'Darui' recognizing her. At all. Ever.

She doubted he could identify Naruto as a male. Even if she had her whisker marks, the most that this 'Darui' could assume was that she was the brother of the one who attacked the Raikage. As Naruto was not wearing a Konoha headband, Darui could not claim that Naruto was the one who attacked the Raikage.

Naruto took out the headband, tied it firmly on her head, and changed into her guy form.

He then quickly took of his clothes and switched them for his orange jumpsuit, knowing he'd need to get another one soon enough. Eh, he could get on in the town he would meet the Kumo ninja in.

Then, Uzumaki Naruto, the guy, walked out of the clearing.

~:~

The town he was to meet the Konoha ninja in was a civilian town used to the passing-by ninja. People were playing ninja, but gave the actual ninja a wide berth. It was one of those places where people were outwardly friendly, but knew the damage they could do.

As the Kumo ninja wandered through, looking for the Konoha ninja, they nearly missed him, and he was wearing a rather flattering outfit of orange, and on most people it would have been downright hideous, but not on him, somehow. His dark red hair was semi-spiky, and his aqua eyes seemed to show what he was feeling all at once. There was a genuine quality to the kid, and Darui found himself intrigued.

The kid chuckled at something the old lady he was speaking to said, then the old lady said something and the kid went bright red. The old lady cackled and moved off with a young girl.

Darui approached the kid.

"Oi, gaki. Done flirting?"

The kid turned to him, still red.

"I'm not flirting," he snapped at Darui. "And are you the ninja your Kage sent to the Land of Ogres?"

"To help the priestess Shion? Of course," Darui replied, gauging his response. Instead of the flash of confusion he was expecting, he got a beam. A happy smile.

"Good! So you know our goal: Keep her alive to reach whichever shrine she needs to get to! I forgot the name... Moryo? Something about a Moryo or something?" The ninja frowned. He opened a scroll. "Argh! The demon's name is Moryo! Kuso! I don't know the damn shrine name!" He bowed to Darui. "Gomen!"

"Will you cut the act, Konoha dog?" C asked, irritation in his voice.

The Konoha teen stood up, wiping away the tears that had so obviously fell from his eyes.

"It's not an act. You're just like that damn teme, except you're from Kumo and he's a traitor from Konoha..." Tears welled in his eyes and the teen tugged a surprised C to him. "You'll be my new best rival!"

"I don't want to be anyone's best rival! Especially not a Konoha dog's!" C shoved him away viciously, and the teen stayed slumped over the fence where he'd ended up.

"Rejected... Like a piece of trash..." the teen wept.

"Really, this is extreme," Karui sighed. "Can we please just go?!"

The redheaded teen seemed to bound back from the sulk he'd just had.

"Ready whenever you are!" he said in a sing-song way. "Also, I'm Uzumaki Natashi!"

The four, Darui, C, Karui, and Omoi all sweatdropped.


	47. 47

"What does this say?" Natashi pointed to a word in Karui's novel she'd let him borrow. It was in a dead language, and Karui - so far - was the only one able to read it.

"Dress," Karui answered after peeking at the word.

Apparently the boy couldn't -

"The fuck is a dress?!"

"That," Karui answered, jabbing a finger at the girl on the illustration page.

"The fuck?! What chick would want such an open clothing?! Who the hell would wear something with such tiny-ass straps... And why does this book have so many unreadable words?!" the teen cried.

"I'm surprised you can read it," Karui replied, ignoring his outburst. "I mean, I've had to study it extensively in Kumo. Where'd you learn?"

"I didn't," the boy replied, flipping a page. "My half of the Kyuubi taught me when you handed me this book." Darui tensed for a split second, but then kept walking. Karui's mouth had dropped in shock.

"So you are the one that attacked Raikage-sama!" C yelled.

"No, that was my idiot little sis," the boy replied. "We're twins. We have half of the Kyuubi. Each. She has the guy half, I have the girl half. Probably why I wear kimonos; it would explain why my sensei called me gender-confused."

Omoi looked at him. "So are you a guy, or a girl?"

"I have a dick, so I guess I'm a guy," the redhead said. Bluntly.

"Are all Konoha ninja blunt, or is it just you?" Darui questioned offhandedly, pausing in his running.

"I'd assume it's all of Konoha's ninja," Natashi explained brightly. "We try not to waste words. Wasting words equals less time devoted to reading porn, as my oh-so-eloquent sensei said."

"You read porn?" a stunned Karui asked.

"No, I've never read porn. It's his stupid orange book that he always carries around - it apparently has porn in it," explained the young man patiently.

"You can read, can't you? Why don't you just take a peek at that?"

"Unfortunately, up until last year, I couldn't read," the young man smiled. "Since my sister left, I learned to stop leaning on her and the Kyuubi to do so. Not that my idiot sister could read, either."

Darui looked at C, whose face paled.

"Is your sister an idiot?"

The redhead peeked over the book. "Yeah, I think so," Natashi responded with a bright smile. "She was the dead last at the Academy, -ttebayo!"

Darui facepalmed as he realized the dreadful truth.

 _Our Kage was beaten by an illiterate idiot._

~:~

 **You are laying it on** ** _thick_** **.**

 _Hey, at least we know I can lie in a sensor's face, huh?_ Naruto kept his face clear of any misgivings. _Let's not give them a moment to suspect me._

"Your necklace."

 _Shimatta!_ Naruto swore while Kurama doubled over with laughter.

"Yeah, what of it?" Naruto asked, keeping his tone clear.

"It's the necklace your sister wears, isn't it?"

Naruto let his smile fade.

"It was." He let the smile slip a little more, then become forced. "Look, can we please not talk about her any more?"

"Ashamed to have such a sister?" C asked nastily.

"She's dead," Naruto lied shortly, shutting the book with a snap. "The Akatsuki killed her."

"Oh... But you freely spoke of her -" Karui began, only to be silenced by Omoi.

"Karui. Sometimes people forget. Especially if it's recent and they're extremely busy."

Karui tilted her head, but remained quiet.

 **...I am** ** _impressed_** **.**

 _With what, the fact that I'm going to spread a rumor that my female side is dead because of the Akatsuki, or the fact that I'm actually getting away with this?_ Naruto asked Kurama as they ran. _I think it's a great lie, sure. But I kinda feel bad because I'm lying to them_ _so_ _blatantly._

 **Don't. Using them to spread the rumor of the Akatsuki's might is good; it will make the other jinchuuriki gakis wary. Of course, showing your female self isn't a bad idea either. At Naruto's inner confusion, he sighed. Think, kit. If, by some random miracle, you managed to live, you could say anything, right? Apply a henge in front of shinobi of what you saw of the Paths, pretend to have the Rinne eyes -**

 _-I could make sure they're wary of even me,_ realized the teen jinchuuriki. _They'll hesitate, meaning-_

 **-they'll make mistakes. Mistakes you can rectify. Using your sword makes the world know that, while technically you're alive-**

 _-I'm a pawn of this so-called Pein, and I can use that to my greatest advantage. Using his spy network, I can get information quicker. And after, when the smoke dies down, reveal to everyone I'm still alive, fuck up their perspectives of me. Plus, that way, I can fool the Akatsuki into thinking the paper lady killed me._ Naruto's lips curved into a smile.

 **That's good and all... But there's still a glaring problem.**

 _Oh, I nearly forgot. You, right?_

 **Exactly. Normally, I'd reform four years after -**

 _Easily rectified,_ Naruto interrupted, startling him. _Forget something, you moron? You're only_ half _the bijuu you used to be._

Kurama said nothing, and Naruto's smirk appeared on her face.

 _Using Jiraiya and his contacts, we can arrange to have the beans spilled to the Akatsuki that you're not reforming because you can't. Not with half of your chakra._

 **You HAVE gotten smarter. I'm amazed.**

Naruto's smile vanished. "Fuck you!" He said aloud. "Fuck you to the lowest depths of hell, you damn bijuu! I'm smart! I'm the smartest guy you'll ever be imprisoned in!"

 **Then I mourn for humanity. Or I would, if I cared at all.**

"BURN IN HELL!"

 **Oh, say something new for once.**

"You're an incredible, insufferable know-it-all without a shred of humbleness, and that is exactly why you're looked down upon as lower than us humans," Naruto fired out.

Silence.

Naruto frowned. "Kyuubi?"

He stopped, holding his head.

"Damn it, Kyuubi! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I was only trying to play around! Gomen! Gomen! Please don't hate -"

 **Your groveling annoys me. But you are right.** A pause. **I suppose. Tch. Not like I care.**

Naruto broke into a smile. _I'm glad I didn't piss you off too much, Kurama._

He stood up and brushed imaginary dust off of his jumpsuit, giving a smile to his current allies, who were all staring at him with awe and half fear.

"What?" he asked, concerned. "Do I have a scary murderous aura around me?"

They shook their heads.

Naruto tilted his head.

"You glowed. Red." Darui looked interested. Naruto had a bad feeling about that interested look.

Naruto snorted. "Come on. I doubt it." He opened the map he had.

And then he realized he didn't know how to read maps.

"Where are we?"


	48. 48

KONOHA

Neji, during this time, was cleaning out the clan library. And boy, did it need it. Desperately. He sneezed again as the dust invaded his nose, and Hinata sighed.

"I can do this," he said to her.

"No, nii-san. It's fine. I love helping you," Hinata smiled. Then sneezed as a dusty book fell from her stack.

Neji sighed. "We're never going to get it clean like this."

Hinata nodded. "If only we knew a jutsu that wouldn't damage the books, but swept the dust away..." Her eyes lit up. "Your Kaiten!"

Neji nodded his head. "Cover your face," he instructed her.

Hinata did so as he moved to an undisturbed part of the room and spun, releasing chakra from all his tenketsu points. Wind stirred up the dust, making it fly into the air. Neji stopped spinning and sneezed violently.

Hinata did the same.

~"~

Outside of the library, Ko the guard found a sense of amusement as he heard the heiress and the genius sneezing.

~"~

Neji started to pick up the books that had fallen in the gust of wind when he stopped and stared at the clan laws. An outdated book, but... This was the original book of the clan laws. He picked it up and brought it closer to his face.

"Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asked, frowning.

Neji wordlessly handed her the book.

Hinata read the passage he'd been reading and her eyes turned to their Byakugan.

In the clan laws, the law was the Main Family could not alter the seal in any way. And seeing the passage above it describing what the Caged Bird Seal did, it had not caused pain. Ever.

"And before you ask if I knew, nobody's been in here since... Well, I wouldn't be surprised if nobody's been in this library since the Founding, with how much dust there is here," Neji told her.

"I'm going to give this book to Father, but I'm going to have to tell him I found it," Hinata warned.

Neji nodded. "I understand." Neji moved to pick up the other books as Hinata darted off with a promise to be back soon.

He stacked countless books after dusting them. Then he walked over to the scrolls. He sighed minutely as he thought of Naruto. She had a summon - toad summon, and now possibly a fox summon.

He opened a random scroll and blinked. Then went really red and snapped the scroll shut. Apparently 'clan secrets' meant 'the entire clan's sordid secrets'.

He opened another. Hey, nobody had been in them for ages, so why not? Plus, he was bored, and he doubted that even Ko could see him past the layers of books. So long as no Hyuuga peeked into the room, he'd be fine.

He realized it was a summoning jutsu of some sort. He memorized the contents, then did the hand signatures. Then he slammed his hand on the ground... And vanished from that dimension.

~:~

Yuki Haku was feeding her bunny when the bunny stopped chewing.

"Haku-kun," the bunny said, earning a shriek from Inari, who was sitting there and had been playing with the bunny. "A new summoner has appeared in our realm."

Haku smiled, seemingly totally unsurprised. "Of course," she told the bunny.

"Does your dad know your bunny can talk?!" Inari asked, clutching his chest.

"I told him my story after the bridge battle," Haku replied. "Message received, Yuki."

The bunny resumed eating.

"Yuki is the messenger bunny." Haku petted Yuki. "I'm a contract-less summoner of the bunnies, because after I killed my father, this little guy found me in a meadow." A haunted expression appeared on Haku's face. Then it passed as she finished her sentence. "I was five when I was found by the bunnies."

"Ah." Inari paused. "You killed your father?"

"Oi, brat." Zabuza leaned against the doorframe, startling Inari into looking at him. Nothing like having a dad who was once part of Kirigakure no Sato. "Heard of the Kekkei Genkai massacres in Kiri? My kid here was involved. His mother was the holder of the Kekkei Genkai. When his dad found out, his dad killed his mother. Haku couldn't control his powers, so he accidentally killed his father. I found him on the streets with that dumb bunny. I let him keep it if he could feed it himself. He told me the truth after the bridge." Zabuza scratched his chin. "Sometimes I wonder how dumb I was. The entire Yuki clan became extinct not soon after Haku turned five."

Haku nodded. "I didn't have a choice, Inari-kun. That's why I'm determined to protect you, Tsunami-san and Tazuna-san!"

Inari smiled. "Sounds good!"

Haku blinked, but smiled.

"Seriously, though, Haku," Zabuza said, looking at his adopted son. "Why the hell did you have to make Nami a bunny garden?"

Haku looked out the window. Bunnies roamed Nami freely.

"I didn't," Haku replied. "The bunnies must converge freely where I am. I don't know."

Zabuza sighed.

~:~

Neji was kind of shocked, in all honesty. He'd never expected a bunny contract.

But they were friendly (if a bit too serious about their vegetables...).

He began to train with them.

~:~

WITH SAKI (In the Doragonrea, the Dragon Lair)

Saki collapsed on her arms, trembling and breathing hair. Her eyes burned and her chakra was low. So far, she'd managed to outrun almost every fireball; however, she had only just been able to unrap her Rinne eye to get the last one up. They'd been training her after every eight hours to runrunrun.

Eight hours running, eight hours asleep. And Saki was tired and very hungry.

"You've done well."

Saki only fell on her face, her arms not holding her up any more.

"You are now ready to pick an element."

Saki looked up at the dragon, who dropped one of Saki's scrolls that, in one of the attacks, a dragon had taken. With each new level attained, she would be given some of her belongings back.

"Kaze," she whispered. Kaze worked explosively with her natural element, Katon.

(Just like Naruto.)

The dragon stared at her.

"Interesting. Now, rest. Until you are rested, no dragon will bother you."

The dragon took off. Saki noticed water near the campfire the remains of the last fireball had made, and Saki crawled over to it.

She drank as neatly as she could, gathering water in her shaky hands.

She then unsealed the stuff in the scroll and ate the protein bars she'd had in them.

She fell asleep sitting up.


	49. 49

Shion opened her eyes and looked at the group, a delicate frown creasing her forehead.

 _Where's the girl?_

There had to be a redheaded girl. She'd seen all of the Kumo nin passed out, and then the girl jumped in, looking battle-worn and annoyed... But then she was speared by that many-headed monster.

 _Where was the girl?_

Shion relaxed fractionally. If the girl wasn't here, then there was no need to panic. The worst these ninja would do would pass out.

"Lady Shion," the one in the front said, "I am Darui of Kumo. This is C, Karui, and Omoi. And this is Uzumaki Natashi of Konoha."

The redhead looked up from the map he was looking at. "Hi," he said vaguely. "We should be reaching Lady Shion's place in an hour."

"We're here, moron," Karui said, hitting the redhead on the back of his head.

 _"Itai!"_

"What a wimp," Karui said, rolling her eyes.

"So cruel!" the redhead whined.

"Seriously, you two, enough!" C said, looking quite annoyed.

"Natashi will be your guard for now, along with Karui." Darui's statement brought them out of bickering.

Shion looked at Natashi. "Do you have a sister, Natashi-san?"

Natashi looked up at her. "Not anymore, Shion-sama. The Akatsuki- _konoyarous_ took care of that."

"Don't say that in front of Lady Shion!"

"I bet Shion-sama hears a lot worse from her guards, C," Omoi said dryly, a sucker in his mouth. "Still, please forgive Natashi-san's mouth. He's an idiot."

Natashi scowled, but didn't deny it.

"We are to guard you until you get to the shrine to fully seal this Moryo demon away," Darui explained, making Shion look away from Natashi.

"I see. And if I tell you that you're all going to die?" Shion asked politely, despite knowing they weren't.

"Excuse me, Shion-sama?" Natashi said, stopping Darui from talking. "But... If you're saying that you can see the future, I completely get why you say that. However, I'm a firm believer in saying 'fuck fate' and punching it in the face, -ttebayo. I did that to someone before." He grinned at her, unrepentant. "And even if we do die - we are ninja, and it is our duty to carry out the mission at all costs!"

"He is correct," nodded Karui. "I think we are two days ahead of schedule, thanks to Natashi's idiocy and Darui's pace, so... Can we get something to eat before we start the guarding?"

"I will have my attendants get anything you wish," Shion replied. "I will need to wait for my taste-tester -"

"I can do it!" Natashi jumped up eagerly. "It's impossible to kill me by poisons!"

Shion frowned. "I highly doubt -"

"Why, I remember my sister and I getting nightshade berries from our old orphanage director," Natashi nodded, looking completely serious. "And there was that cupful of anti-freeze. My nee-chan said it was the best thing she ever tasted." A sad expression flitted across his face. "So yeah, I can survive being poisoned! I doubt that I can die from any known poison!" He gave her a big smile.

"If you die, it will not be on me," Shion said flatly.

~:~

"Shion's giving you eyes," Karui mentioned to Naruto.

"Eyes? That's nasty, I don't want eyes!" Naruto exclaimed.

 _Is she trying to poison me for real?!_

 **...I can't believe THAT YOU'RE EVEN DUMBER THAN I THOUGHT! ROMANTIC EYES, YOU BAKA!**

"No need to yell," Naruto snapped at his bijuu. "I can't return Shion-sama's feelings... I have someone already. I think." He felt his cheeks warming up. "I think," he repeated.

"Oh? Who's the lucky girl?" Karui beamed.

"It's a guy," Naruto responded.

Karui gaped at him. "You're - I never had you pegged for that!"

"What?" Naruto stared blankly at Karui.

"You're gay!" Karui yelled, causing silence to fall upon the hall as eyes looked to Karui, whose finger was aimed at Naruto.

"..." Naruto thought about it. Since he was a guy currently... "Eh, it doesn't matter. I can asexually reproduce if I needed to." He used his chopsticks to pick up some rice. "'Sides, my mother is a dude and definitely gay." He looked at Karui. "Any problems with that?"

"Nope, not at all." Karui beamed at him. "Go for it, man."

"Shinobi can have same-sex marriages?" Shion asked quietly, causing the shinobi to look up at her.

"Well, most of us die early, so relationships like that are accepted," Naruto nodded. "I mean, I don't know any female pairs in my village, but I do know my mother figure is definitely sucking face with my sensei, so... Yeah. It's an awkward situation to me considering what I walked in on once." A true shiver of horror went down his spine at that. "It's comparable to kissing Sasuke." And with that mental image, Naruto stood up and turned to the nearest servant, hand over his mouth.

"This way!" the young lady cried, running.

Naruto was right behind her.

~:~

Soon, though, they were attacked. Naruto was glad he'd made them come faster with his fake idiocy, and he got to show of some of his not-so-lame sword skills.

Having been gender-fluid since the time he'd become aware of the possibility of changing sexes, which was very young thanks to Kurama's usual androgynous self, he could quite easily use a katana in this form. Throwing in some sand attacks wasn't amiss, either, as it surprised the enemy when he got sand in their faces.

"Kage Bunshin!" He summoned a Kage Bunshin that helped, and Naruto started to summon them, all of them knowing the plan. One of his Kage Bunshin gave him a stern look that was hiding amusement.

"Go!" said the Kage Bunshin. "Protect her, bunshin!"

Naruto nodded, then grabbed the priestess, taking off with a small jolt of Kyuubi chakra. That chakra alone made her leap the width of the canyon. Then, Naruto made his sand grab each of the Kumo shinobi and get them to the cliffside. He handed the priestess over to Darui, then turned and deflected several kunai.

"Sugoi!" Karui gasped as Naruto made his stand.

"If you think that's cool, watch this." He held out his currently silver katana. He'd found it curious, until Kurama said he'd expanded his chakra to make it blood red, even though the sword was made for the Uzumaki monarch. It was his chakra that helped it. "Ikuzo, Kyuubi!"

Red chakra exploded from the blade, creating a strong wind. The Kumo members and Shion looked on in awe.

Naruto drove forward with his blade. It jarred his entire body when one of the shinobi blocked it with a kunai. Naruto's sword started to cut it, then one of Kurama's claws came from the blade itself and slashed at the opposing ninja's face, creating a wound that was instantly cauterized by the heat of Kurama's chakra.

Naruto was unaffected; or perhaps it was because he was used to Kurama's chakra and used to it burning him. The Kumo nin jumped a safe distance away, C stumbling because of the immense hate coming from Kurama.

Naruto turned to the other two, Kurama's chakra dying down to come in lazy wisps off of her blade as the third ninja stumbled back. Two incapacitated, two to go.

"A demon... Moryo-sama will be definitely intrigued to hear this," the one who held the most water ninjutsu sid aloud, gazing at Naruto hungrily.

Naruto tensed, but the water nin simply vanished.

Then the other unarmed one rushed up to him, and engaged Naruto in a one-on-one.


	50. 50

Hanzou the Salamander was an old, old man now. He may have ruled the second part of Ame, but even he knew he would not live long enough to see the world finish.

"A messenger of Konoha has arrived, Hanzou-sama," a servant girl said.

"Allow him in," Hanzou said, setting his cup down.

The door opened, and there stood the one opponent Hanzou had never beaten - the opponent Hanzou had given a name to. The Sannin of the Toads. Jiraiya.

He looked a lot older than he had when Hanzou had seen him last. He supposed time made its mark on all ninja.

"Jiraiya, was it?" he asked.

Jiraiya looked solemn.

"We have a problem, Salamander."

Hanzou sighed. "I shouldn't have -"

"My students." Hanzou paused. "My students Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan. Tell me, Salamander - which one of them did you kill?"

Hanzou sighed again.

"None." Jiraiya glared at him. "I killed none of them," Hanzou repeated. "The orange-haired one died on his own. He pierced himself on a kunai - the kunai held in his best friend's hands." Hanzou chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it? Neither of them were willing to kill the other to save the blunette; but the orange-haired one killed himself to save her."

Jiraiya looked disgusted. He took a menacing step towards the old leader, to intimidate - only to pause.

"Doton: Mud wall!"

Paper pierced one wall. The maid was the only one spared the wrath of the blunette; Jiraiya's mud wall barely stopped the paper from slicing into them.

Jiraiya gave Hanzou one last look of loathing before sinking into the ground.

Hanzou didn't care any more, not even as the orange-haired man he'd thought died years before approached him, cold, purple, ringed eyes glaring at him.

~:~

Naruto grimaced as he kept his sword in his teeth, using it to make the guy he was fighting back up. But he'd come right back swinging, and it was getting quite annoying.

" _Bakayarou_ , stop coming back!" he said in a muffled yell, swinging his sword and slicing his opponent's stomach and finally making the guy stumble back.

The wounded duo disappeared. Naruto's clones dispelled themselves, and Naruto had a sudden foreboding as he panted in sudden exhaustion, spitting out his blade and catching it. He put it back into its sheath, then formed a sand palanquin, making it to where he only had to spend only a little bit of chakra while he regained it.

"Come on," he said, frowning a little.

They all hopped on, and Naruto sat on the front. Omoi decided to join him, offering him a candy sucker.

Naruto accepted it with a smile, then started sucking on it while frowning and heading in the direction of the shrine.

~:~

Omoi glanced at the kid next to him. Neither eye was open, and he was breathing rather deeply, so it meant that he was asleep. Even as he slept, though, they sailed to the shrine, so the kid's inner bijuu must have been aiming the sand and keeping it afloat.

The kid was very interesting. C had his suspicions - that the strange boy had the exact same chakra signature as the girl who had attacked the Raikage, but his suspicion was pretty foundless as the boy was a boy.

Frowning, Omoi wondered if calling the girl who'd attacked the Raikage was really important; she'd used bijuu power to attack the Raikage, after all.

Natashi jerked, muttered something incomprehensible, then settled down.

Omoi blinked at the kid.

"Hey, is he asleep?" Karui popped up behind him. "Shion is."

"Yeah, he's asleep." Omoi looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just bored." Karui's gold eyes looked down at the kid. "That gaki is so damn naive."

"I don't think so," Omoi responded carelessly. "I think that no matter what he pretends, he's smart, dangerous, but he hurts in a way we'll never see. If it's what C expected, and this boy is the girl somehow, then I don't see any reason in telling Raikage-sama, if I'm honest."

Karui's eyes widened.

"I just think," Omoi continued, "that the boy has a reason for saying that the girl is dead."

"You trust the kid?" Karui asked, suspicion in her eyes.

"Yeah," Omoi smiled a little. "I suppose I do."

~:~

Naruto opened his eyes, feeling like he was well-rested. He was also laying on someone's shoulder, and sniffing, the scent was distinctly Darui's.

Face turning red, he sat up quickly, coughed, and announced, "It's been clear all night!"

"Yeah, we know," Omoi said, right above Naruto's head. "We traded shifts while you slept. How did you keep the sand moving?"

"It must've been Kyuubi..." Naruto sulked. "And here I was, planning on showing you all that I was a good shinobi, -ttebayo."

"Don't worry. You proved that earlier," Darui replied. "Now, we're heading into dangerous territory."

Naruto nodded, standing on his sand. "Alright. Spread out!"

Kage bunshin popped around them, standing on their own sand piles, spreading out.

"How'd you get through the self-preservation instincts of the Kage Bunshin?" Omoi wondered.

"Self-preservation instincts?" Naruto tilted his head, puzzled. "To, like, run away from death?"

Darui nodded.

"Oh, not sure I did," Naruto beamed. "But to protect those I love, I will die for them. In any and every way," he vowed.

One of his bunshin popped.

Naruto took a deep breath.

"Kyuubi. Let's do sync mode, and kick these guys' asses."

 **Hm!**

Naruto exploded into golden chakra, and he knew where the enemies were. Darui's eyes were wide in shock, and Naruto grinned at him. Then he jumped on top of the sand palanquin, and summoned another bunshin... Which didn't need instructions as he started guiding the sand. Naruto jumped off, into the trees.


	51. 51

Darui made to follow, but the Kage bunshin stopped him.

"He's got this," the bunshin told Darui. "We need to get to the shrine."

"But -"

"Seriously, Darui-taichou, he's got this," insisted the redheaded clone. "He will kawarimi with one of us clones when he's ready."

"You're okay with dying?" Darui asked skeptically, truly wondering.

The redhead clone gave him an 'are you stupid' look.

"Of course I'm okay with dying, you fucking moron! That's what Kage bunshin are for! No matter how much we hated the Nidaime!" He gave Darui a glare before directing the sand to stop. "Now, take a different bunshin - I'm going to try to draw them away. Get to the shrine."

Shion came out on Omoi's back, Karui loosening her tanto in its sheath.

~:~

Naruto chased down the four ninja, all the while running through curses in his mind. He summoned yet another clone and created a Rasengan. He drove it into the back of the one he'd had Kurama claw at the previous night.

But then skidded to a stop.

He was trapped. He was such an idiot!

For a moment he stood there, before facepalming as people appeared. The four he'd encountered the previous night as well as a new man who reeked and felt evil.

But... It was...

It was lame. Naruto couldn't help but think that it was so lame of an evil that he didn't even really feel like much of a threat. Seriously, Shukaku was a bigger threat, and - well... Shukaku was the weakest in terms of power.

He ran through the handsigns before slamming his thumbs to the ground. Smoke poofed, and Gamakichi appeared, Naruto on his head.

"Time to fight, huh?" Gamakichi questioned.

"If you're up for it," Naruto said.

"Just give me something with claws and fangs and we'll be fine." Gamakichi coughed a little, spraying out water.

"You sick or something?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"No! I'm just growing," Gamakichi said in a defensive tone.

"Okay, then," Naruto said, smiling a little. "Henge!"

And with a roar, the physical body of the Kyuubi was there.

One sweep of his tail and the opposite side of the mountain was destroyed.

"I see," the demon said. "Foolish child, do you expect me to be fooled by an illusion?"

The henge dropped, and Naruto looked at him. His aqua eyes flashed angrily.

" _Urusai, bakayarou_! When you've got something nice to -"

Naruto's attention was caught by the sky.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" He cried, pointing wildly in the sky.

All five ninja turned, puzzled.

Seeing nothing, they turned back, only to stare as there was no sign of the boy or the gigantic toad.

~:~

Naruto was ready for anything.

Except -

He switched genders just in time, using her flexibility to flip over the sword aimed to kill behind her. She slammed her katana into the heart of the ninja behind her, killing with it for the first time. She refused to feel anything right then, hardening her heart and eyes as she leaped, Kurama's chakra seeping up the blade and cleaving the next ninja's head clean off in one slice, ending up in a crouch.

Her heart hammered as she looked at the Kumo ninja.

Then she huffed and got up swiftly, flicking her katana to get rid of the blood. She turned to the other two, who looked frightened. Naruto cast a glance down at herself, and indeed - a blood red aura encased her.

 **I guess that's the aura of the sword helping you. Even if you're not using it.**

Naruto twirled her sword, cracked her neck, and gave a very wild grin.

An explosion rang out. She cast a glance at her allies, and swore. Trying to get over to them, she was blocked a beam of malevolent energy speared her body.

She gasped, coughing out blood -

\- and was tugged out of the stream by a dragon. She knew it was because the head of the dragon bent down to look at her.

"Toss her up here, Callista!"

Naruto plummeted before landing on the back of the dragon.

"Saki?!"

Her best friend looked very tired. "I guess I have a 'Naruto's-in-danger' sense, huh?" Saki laughed.

"Saki, you look like shit," Naruto said, quite bluntly.

"I've been in the dragon lair, it's very exhausting," Saki admitted. "I have to go back; Callista's mother told me that I have to continue my training."

"Callista, was it?" The dragon's blue eye looked at Naruto. "Tell your mom that if she kills my best friend, I'm going to kill her. Okay? Okay." Naruto stood up and waved at Saki. "Got a priestess to save!" The malevolent energy darkened. Naruto jumped off Callista, diving headfirst into the evil mass.

~:~

Shion felt misery and anguish and felt like giving up. She'd been right - Natashi was going to die because Natashi was female.

 _I'm sorry, Mother._ She released her mother's power, but stopped.

She heard a voice.

 _Why? Why do they all look at me with those eyes?_

Shion sniffed as she looked into the black.

A crowd was shown, with eyes glaring down coldly at the blonde-haired child that cried. All alone.

But then... A shadow fell over the child.

 _I need to get to Kusagakure. Can you help?_ It was a child of the same age.

The child took the hand of the other child.

Whoever's memories these were, they seemed to echo.

 _You are banished from Konohagakure no Sato._ The kneeling blonde girl was frozen, looking resigned - like she'd expected that. _You have five hours to get out of our village, monster._

And then a redhead, speaking to Darui. It didn't take a genius to see that the blonde and the redhead were the same people.

 _To protect those I love, I will die for them._

Natashi shoved her way to the center, walked up to Shion, ignoring the fact that there was a hole in her jumpsuit, and slapped Shion.

"Wake UP, Shion-sama!" Natashi ordered, her aqua eyes glaring at Shion. "Let's kill this guy and get you home!"

Shion swallowed. "I don't know if I can," she whimpered.

Natashi clasped her hands with her own.

Warm energy licked Shion's hands, and Shion found her bell ringing.

White light poured from Shion.

~:~

After all was said and done, Naruto was back in his guy form, staring at the shattered stone army.

"You know, now that I think about it, it was a stupid-ass plan," Naruto told Darui, who had just come out to survey the area. "Moryo thought by reflecting my memories he could bring out the despair."

"It didn't? It certainly resonated in Shion."

"Shion was born privileged. Sure, she saw everyone she loved die, but I think - I think she can control her destiny now. She just needed to wake up and realize that."

Darui hummed.

Naruto turned to him.

"I'd appreciate it if you spread the rumor I was dead," he went on. "If you could spread the word that the Akatsuki are after the jinchuuriki, then I would also be grateful."

"Just let me ask you one question," Darui said, stopping Naruto as he stood and went to leave. "How did you survive in Konoha?"

"I made sure the ones I called my friends were still my friends," Naruto replied mysteriously with a smile.

Darui tossed him a bag of ryo.

"Your share. Plus half of mine."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest. Darui stopped him.

"Seriously, I don't need it."


	52. 52

The Raikage eyed them all.

"And this redhead."

"A boy, Raikage-sama," C said honestly. "The brother of the girl who fought you. He also told us that she died."

Nobody in the group tensed as they waited for the diction of the Raikage.

"What do you mean, died? Darui?"

"The Akatsuki, Raikage-sama." There was a sudden stirring. "He told us that the Akatsuki murdered his sister."

~"~

"Killer B." Ni'i Yugito looked at her fellow jinchuuriki, holed up in the mountains. "One half of the jinchuuriki pair in Konoha has died by the hands of the Akatsuki."

The jinchuuriki for the Hachibi was quiet. "Eight-o says that's a lie, _konyarou, bakayarou._ "

"So does the Nibi." Yugito looked at the sky. "Soon, we might die," she said gravely.

"I know," Killer B said simply.

"Should we fight? I tire of being a jinchuuriki." Despite what she said, she knew she would. And she knew that Killer B knew it, too.

It was sometimes frustrating, being allies - at the least - with him. He knew what she really meant most of the time, but she couldn't get a lock on him.

Yugito sighed and stood, turning away from Killer B.

~:~

Konan wasn't all too keen on killing her former master. But as Pein (Nagato - Yahiko, both, it seemed) held their former teacher up by the throat and placing pressure on it, Konan knew that Pein would not stop.

And Jiraiya _smiled_.

Konan's eyes filled with tears unseen by Pein, but Jiraiya's dark eyes moved to look at her. She refused to let them fall, and he fell from Pein's grasp.

The old toad, who helped Jiraiya to get into Sage mode, stood near them, looking upon his body. Jiraiya moved, saying something too quiet for Konan to hear. The old toad nodded, and Pein, all five of him, rushed down and impaled him. The toad vanished.

Konan went to her room, and she let the tears fall.

Abandon them or not, Jiraiya had been their precious sensei.

~:~

Naruto was back in the Summon realm for a while, giving her chakra a rest from strenuous activities, reading Jiraiya's first book and only non-smut novel, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, inside the Kitsune den, their part of the summon realm.

Kikiya burst into Naruto's handmade home (really just a cave with a bath crudely carved in by a Rasengan), rudely interrupting her.

Naruto had gotten a lot of patience with the rude kitsune, but the agitated energy the kitsune was giving off was practically visible for the fourteen, nearly fifteen year old.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, the kitsune slammed a hand onto her face.

"The f-"

She clapped a hand over her mouth as she saw Iruka-sensei gazing at her. He did not like his precious, darling kid swearing (remaining blind to the fact that she was very familiar, thanks to a certain single-eyed cyclops, to the Icha Icha Paradise series... Mostly the very graphic pictures.).

She removed her hand as the atmosphere of the room hit her.

"Why is everyone so glum?" she asked quietly, tilting her head. _Please, please - let everyone be okay._

"You don't know, then?" asked Tsunade, looking gravest of them all.

"Know what?" Patient or not, Naruto had no time for people beating around the bush.

"Jiraiya was killed."

Naruto's heart seemed to stop. The world seemed to freeze.

"He was killed fighting Pein during a diplomatic mission to the segregated part of Amegakure no Sato." Tsunade's voice was stiff.

Naruto's breath caught.

"It was his wish that you train with the toads, to finish the training and become a toad sage. Naruto, I know how hard this is for you," Tsunade said, her honey brown eyes softening.

Naruto couldn't take it. She ran out of the office, chest heaving, and ran out. People called hellos to her, but she couldn't. She couldn't deal with any of this _shit_. Jiraiya was dead, and nobody seemed to care. Her grandfather she barely knew was dead.

A sob caught her throat, and she fell. She had run next to the bathhouses.

There was silence all around. Not a sign of life.

And as Naruto cried out to the stars, she felt an uncontrollable wave of utter hate.

She loosed a scream, and in that moment, the first child to carry Asura's chakra and blood born to an Uzumaki and a Senju, the result of Uchiha and Uzumaki intermingling, awoke the one thing thought impossible for the Senju and Uzumaki.

It was a different color, her previous eye color instead of purple. It held the same functions as the purple eye - but it fit her well.

It was a blue Rinnegan. A cerulean blue Rinnegan that seemed to pulse.

Saki felt it. Obito felt it. Sasuke felt it. All of the doujutsu users in the world felt it.

~:~

Naruto saw the Memorial Stone, a new name added to it. _Senju Jiraiya._

Tsunade must've remembered that Jiraiya hadn't had a last name, and gave him her own.

It fit.

She remained standing there for what felt like ages; and indeed, it was ages. The sky lightened, Kakashi stopped by - a lot of ninja stopped by, standing a respectful distance away from the stone-still Naruto. And again, night came.

And Naruto finally spoke.

"How dare you come here."

Footsteps approached her, and Orochimaru stood behind her, dressed in mourning blacks. She didn't move, aware that the Sannin outclassed her.

 _Or did he?_

A small part of Naruto wanted to fight, something to take her anger out on. But she knew not to piss this snakelike Sannin off.

"He was once my teammate, little girl."

"He dedicated his life to trying to find you, to bring you back home." She kept her voice neutral.

"Just like you're doing with Sasuke-kun."

His voice was mocking.

Naruto moved. She turned and ignored Kabuto. She took out a kunai and aimed it at Orochimaru, her eyes murderous.

"You tell Sasuke that if he doesn't come back home, I'm going to kill him." She smiled sinisterly. "I am not going to sit back and watch him become you. He's nothing like you. And if that means I have to kill him, then fine." Her smile grew as Orochimaru looked taken aback. "And if you do tell him, I expect a gift."

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with rage.

"Nothing too extravagant... Just the flutist and the girl you sent to the Island. That should be payment enough."

"I owe you nothing," Orochimaru hissed.

"You stole the blood of my clansmen and clanswomen; I am the Queen of the Uzumaki, and if you don't want to die, you'll send them to Uzushio. Let them go, as it were. If you don't, I will be sure to kill you myself for what you have done to my people, my family. And I will use this kunai." She ran a chakra-coated finger over it, and Orochimaru swallowed. "Time's running out~"

"Fine," Orochimaru spat. He looked at Kabuto, who was also dressed in black. "Kabuto. We're leaving."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said obediently.

Naruto watched them go. But then they paused, and Kabuto looked at her.

"Naruto-chan."

Her eyes met his. They were cold, as they were the last time she'd seen him.

"I'd worry about yourself, rather than your clansmen. Seeing as you're the one who is going to be the puppet soon."

Naruto stared at Kabuto, a curious smile stretching her face.

"Good for me," she said, that same smile on her face. "Have a good night, Orochimaru. Don't let the fact that Jiraiya didn't want to give up on you keep you up at night."

"You've given up on Sasuke-kun, haven't you?" Orochimaru asked her as she turned away to look at the Memorial Stone again.

"I won't ever give up on him," she replied, conviction thick in her voice.


	53. 53

She walked back into the city at a civilian pace. Her face was blank, until Neji appeared. He didn't say anything, simply held out his arms. The girl burst into tears and hugged him.

Her heart hurt, and he understood.

He gently guided her to his clan compound, and gently took her into Hinata's room.

In a hushed whisper, he explained what was wrong, and immediately the other teen nodded.

The still-crying Naruto was handed off, and Hinata soothed her.

"It will be all right, Naruto," Hinata whispered. "It'll be fine."

Naruto shook her head. It wouldn't be. It really wouldn't be.

~:~

Sasuke dropped the lock of bloody white hair inside a bag down on the table in front of Orochimaru. "That good enough for you? The yellow-haired man said that the Leader was hesitant to do business with you."

Orochimaru smirked at Sasuke. "It'll be enough," he purred. "Kabuto-kun. Take that and put it you-know-where. Sasuke-kun... Have you been training with Manda?"

"No, since I don't have the necessary sacrifices. I have been training with Aoda." Sasuke ignored the glare Orochimaru had on his face at that name. Aoda got along a little too well with the other summons, and Orochimaru did not care for that.

"Fine. What about Kirin?"

"Mastered it," Sasuke said, boredom in his voice.

"Hm." Orochimaru frowned, but then Tayuya, recently fully healed, entered the room. Her face was in a permanent scowl (or it was just the fact that Tayuya disliked Sasuke and Kabuto) as she strode up to Orochimaru and set a scroll down.

"What you asked for, Orochimaru-sama," Tayuya said, her scowl melting and revealing a lovely face. "It needs the DNA of whomever it can s-"

"Enough, Tayuya."

Tayuya subsided.

~:~

Saki nodded at Ryuumi, then reverse-summoned herself, ending up in a desert-like area with a huge cliff. There was a genjutsu around her, and her Sharingan whirled into being. The illusion wavered, and Saki's red eyes widened.

The illusion vanished, and Saki sighed as she stared at her cousin, deactivating her eyes.

"Hello, Sasuke."

Uchiha Sasuke gazed at her, apathy in his gaze.

"Hello, Saki." He kept staring at her. "Why didn't Itachi kill you?"

"I hid at Naruto's," Saki replied, never missing the flash of irritation in his eyes. "I'm pretty sure Itachi forgot about me. Hell, before Naruto was banished, Tsunade-sama didn't know I existed. It's difficult to finally see another Uchiha; I almost thought you were a ghost story."

"Ghost story or not," Sasuke told her, grasping one of her arms, "I can't let you free."

"I know." At his raised eyebrow at her lack of argument, Saki grinned at him. "I'm not a dumbass, Sasuke." Her tone implied, _not like you_. "Not as dumb as Naruto, though."

Sasuke hated talk of Naruto, as evidenced by the subtle tightening of his arm. Saki smirked at him, knowing Sasuke and Itachi; Sasuke better because Itachi was way more subtle than Sasuke.

Sasuke started to shove her in, but Saki resisted, the smirk vanishing.

"Please, Sasuke," she asked him, knowing what Orochimaru would do to her. He only needed one Uchiha. And until her chakra could regenerate enough to use her Mangekyou, she was pretty much helpless. "Don't let Orochimaru use me."

Sasuke's eyes softened infinitesimally.

Then his eyes moved forward, dragging Saki behind him.

~:~

Orochimaru stared at Sasuke as he stabbed Guren in the shoulder for touching the other Uchiha. There was power in the girl, but Orochimaru was much more interested in Sasuke.

"Nobody here touches Saki," Sasuke threatened. "Not until my use for her is done."

Guren didn't grunt when Sasuke removed the sword.

After Sasuke was gone, out of the room, Guren gave Orochimaru the hairs, but Orochimaru shook his head.

"Call Tayuya in here," he ordered.

In short order, Tayuya knelt before him.

He threw the scroll at her, with the hairs. "Tell our mutual friend I am not satisfied until I know it works," he instructed briskly. "And not to use my DNA on the hairs."

Tayuya bowed and stalked away. His use for her was slowly dwindling.

He turned to Guren. "Go to the North hideout," he ordered her. "Then go toward Kirigakure; I want to see if the rumors that the Sanbi is in the lake there are true. If it is, impress me." He nodded towards Kabuto, who nodded back before leaving with Guren. It was more a test of Guren's loyalties than anything, so if she failed...

He narrowed his eyes in thought. If Sasuke protected Saki because she was his cousin, wouldn't that mean they were closer than Naruto and Sasuke?

 _No_ , Orochimaru decided. Sasuke was saving Saki out of familial obligation. He supposed Sasuke would save Naruto out of needing to kill her.

The place trembled, and Sasuke stalked out without needing to be told anything.

~:~

Saki grinned as her eyes bled, probably giving a demented look. Her Susano'o was in full form, and her Mangekyou spun as she used her left eye to slow down time outside of her defense, which shielded her. Then she powered it down a little, going fast to find the entrance before her time ran out. With every use of her Mangekyou, she was extending the time limit of being able to use it.

"Bitch, _please_ ," she said to the random, curse-marked being that appeared, swiping the person aside with a miniature arm.

She finished charging the chakra, then released it. Time slowed for everyone but Saki.

And she ran.

She ran down and out of the base. Then she allowed her Susano'o to fade, releasing some of the strain on her eyes, but she also kept up a slow second. About five seconds had passed, and she wished she could create an almost infinite loop with her eyes on some people.

She skidded to a stop as her Mangekyou faded, breathing hard and falling to her knees. Twelve minutes her time and she'd had to slow down the time to four minutes the outside world's time.

She breathed heavily as her Susano'o died.

"There she is!" "Intruder!"

She staggered upright - then poofed into nothingness.

~:~

Tayuya tapped her flute impatiently.

"Can you hurry?" she demanded of the seal master.

He glared at her. "You can't hurry perfection!" he cried. "There!"

"Summon," she ordered, setting her flute to her lips menacingly.

He swallowed and ran his hands through the signs, casting a glance at his daughter as he did so. Tayuya held her there with the Chains of Fantasia, her unique signature genjutsu ability. Now she had mastered the soundless version, but it was more powerful now if she actually played the melody.

He slammed his hand on the contract, and a wild-looking Uchiha girl - the Uchiha Orochimaru had in his base - appeared.

She looked at Tayuya, then her hands flashed.

Tayuya played her flute, and the Uchiha froze.

Tayuya stopped playing, but the ogre still had its grasp on her.

"Look, I want you to help me escape Orochimaru," Tayuya said to her. The teen looked confused. "And I'm not the only one that wants it."

"The other is?" the Uchiha asked impatiently.

"An Uzumaki," Tayuya said with a wince. "She needs out. Like, NOW. Orochimaru is going to be rid of us by giving us to Kabuto. I'm useless, and she's only useful for fangirling over Sasuke and/or healing people that will eventually die anyway."

The Uchiha sighed.

"I can't. I need to fully heal my chakra."

"Stop struggling to get out of my ogre's grasp, and I can help with that," Tayuya growled, making her other ogre release the kid it had been holding hostage. Tayuya fed the ogres' chakra to the Uchiha, whose eyes widened in pure relief.

Tayuya released her.

"How are we going to do this?" the Uchiha asked, eyes spinning into the bloodred of the Sharingan.


	54. 54

Naruto stood in front of the Hokage, but stared at the floor instead of her grandmother, who swallowed and gestured for Temari to talk. Temari and an old woman, who looked rather displeased at what was happening, stood there, looking grave.

"The Akatsuki are attacking Suna," she said. Naruto's head snapped from the ground to Temari, eyes focused. "Gaara's holding out for now, but -"

Naruto slammed the door, not wanting to listen to Temari.

She grabbed her katana, her gourd, and was gone - smashing her gourd to pieces and using it to fly above the treetops. She couldn't be - wouldn't be - late. She had to get there on time.

She couldn't let her friend down.

~:~

Deidara glared at the Yondaime Kazekage and his son, the Godaime Kazekage.

"Why not just surrender?" he demanded of him. His head began to scream, a migraine making it difficult to concentrate.

"It is not in my nature to," Gaara growled. Sand and gold flooded the air, aiming to him.

Sasori was being attacked by the resident puppet master, his protegee, the brother of the Ichibi. Deidara had been mildly obsessed for a while over whether or not Gaara was a good person after finding out that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki had befriended him. It had freaked Sasori out quite a bit.

Deidara threw his blast combo at them, blowing the sand back. Three days of playing attack, retreat and gather chakra and clay and he was already almost out again. Growling, Deidara used a small part of his bird and made it blow up a lot of the sand.

A yell below made Deidara smirk. The brother of the Ichibi was unconscious, one of Sasori's poisons. They were lucky that Suna's other puppeteer was gone to get help from Konoha; or not so lucky, depending on the perspective of the person.

Deidara winced as his neck burned acutely. What the hell keeps burning my neck? He asked himself; there was no time to dwell on it because he was lifted from his bird and thrown bodily to the ground. More sand swirled around him, temporarily blinding him.

Looking up, he saw a furious redhead gazing down at him. Male, definitely; but there was no mistaking the whisker marks. Somehow, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki had turned male and was there.

"You all right?" the Kyuubi jinchuuriki asked the Kazekages. "Hey, Gaara - what's with the getup?"

"I'm the new Kazekage," Gaara said after a small pause.

"Damn, you're the youngest ever!" declared the boy.

"No, that title still belongs to the Yondaime Mizukage," the Yondaime Kazekage refuted. "But I believed Gaara was ready, and while he is not yet fifteen, I believe that he can do what must be done."

"Cut the shit," Deidara snapped. "Surrender or die." His migraine got exponentially worse, and he collapsed where he stood, breathing shallowly. Get up! He ordered himself.

Someone touched his shoulder, and he could only groan as he fell back in the sand.

Aqua eyes. Kushina.

Those aqua eyes widened. "What did you just say?" The Kyuubi boy shook him.

"You look just like your mother." And just like that, his mind seemed to shatter. Darkness claimed him.

~:~

Naruto bit his lip. On one hand, Deidara could be screwing with him. On the other, Naruto sensed a seal.

He turned Deidara over and brushed the older man's hair away from his neck. This seal was complex, but Naruto got the gist of it. It concealed whoever this seal was placed on, disrupted his memories -

 **Kit, I... I think you should send him to Konoha. I need to borrow your body after this and write to the Senju bitch.**

Naruto sent a wave of acknowledgement to his friend, then brought out a prisoner containment scroll. He didn't have the time right then to send it, but he did seal Deidara into the scroll.

"Oi, gaki!"

Naruto turned to see Sasori running. Why?

Because he'd used the moment of distraction to grab an unconscious, poisoned Gaara. Poisoned by a senbon needle.

Senbon. A curse fell from Naruto's lips, and he got up.

"I need to send something to Tsunade-sama real fast," he growled. "Then I'll go after Gaara."

~:~

Chiyo, or Granny Chiyo as most Suna nins and civilians alike called her, glanced at Hatake Kakashi.

"Do you trust in that student of yours, the one who isn't a Konoha ninja?" she finally asked, breaking the tense silence. The rosette looked ashamed and guilty for some reason as Hatake turned to her with a hard eye.

"I trust Uzumaki Naruto to the ends of the earth itself," he said quietly. "She just lost someone quite dear to her, which was why she was in such a terrible mood. It's doubtful that she isn't already en route; Gaara is another person dear to her."

"She was a Konoha ninja," the rosette said suddenly.

"What happened?" Chiyo wondered idly. She saw Temari look sharply at the rosette, who looked away, unable to meet Temari's gaze. Or anyone's.

"She got banished," she said quietly.

Chiyo was incredulous. "And she's on good terms with the Hokage?"

Kakashi snorted. "Kinda has to be, in my opinion." At Chiyo's questioning glance, Kakashi answered the unasked question. "Tsunade is her grandmother. But even then... Without knowing that, Naruto was on good terms with Tsunade. She was the one that brought Lady Tsunade to the village again."

Just as Chiyo was about to speak, a redheaded boy with the Yondaime Kazekage on his back appeared on a sand cloud.

Then he stopped. "Kaka-sensei, tell everyone you know that the chick me is dead. Also, that way is the way that Akasuna no Sasori is." He pointed in the direction of Ame, and formed a larger sand cloud. "Rest; the Kyuubi will take care of the flying and sensing. I will be sleeping, too." They all just stood there. "HURRY UP!" the boy snarled at them, and that shocked the ninja into complying.

"Where's Kankuro?" asked Chiyo, sitting and taking full advantage of the resting period.

"We need to beat Sasori and get an antidote from him, or Kankuro is screwed," the boy said shortly, answering her question with that sentence alone. "More than that, we need to get Gaara back. They're probably unsealing him as we speak!"

"Good thing I'm here, then," Neji spoke up. "To look through walls into caves and such. If they want solitude, a cave is a good bet, right, Naruto?"

"You're right, Neji," Naruto nodded. "Hurry and rest."

Team Gai and Kakashi's team all moved to their corners, Temari glancing at her sleeping father. He rested against Naruto's back.

"I knocked him unconscious because he was being a bastard," Naruto said, startling Chiyo and Temari. "He is the Kazekage; he has the title for a reason." He was clutching the sand, and his face was extremely pale. "Deidara has already been taken care of already, so we won't need to worry about that."

Everyone stared at each other, at a loss for now.

~:~

Gaara felt unimaginable pain. As Shukaku was extracted, he felt as though he was dissolving.

But before he completely dissolved, he appeared in front of Shukaku's prison.

 **I told you I'd kill you when I saw you again,** the half-dissolved bijuu said to him. **But I want you to do something for me. Tell Kurama's host that he's an idiot. Also, here's some of my chakra to store.**

"Won't I die?" Gaara asked, surveying the bijuu.

 **Your problem. Not mine.**

The bijuu shoved him out, and he returned to the pain.

But the pain was vanishing slowly. He was sinking into pleasant numbness.

He may have been dreaming, but he thought he felt Naruto at the edge of his consciousness.

 _I'm coming for you._

~:~

Naruto jolted up. He thought for a minute - for one heart-stopping second - he could feel Gaara.

"You're awake." The displeased voice of the Kazekage made him wince.

"Look, I just can't leave Gaara behind," he said, turning to meet the Kazekage's gaze. "He's my friend, and I can't leave my friends to die."

 _I can't - it may be selfish of me - but I can't survive someone else dying._

 _Especially not_ Gaara _._

He found his eyes were burning. He swiped at them angrily and turned forward again.

 **There's no shame in crying.**

 _Shut up, Kurama._ Naruto was in his mindscape, Kurama glaring down at him.

 **I will not. You're hurting, and I care for you, kit. I won't ask what's wrong.** A poof of smoke, and Naruto was suddenly being held by strong arms. **I already know.**

He blinked. _You turned human?!_

 **No, I became a salamander,** Kurama deadpanned. **I can switch forms. I could become a cockroach if I wanted to, but I won't because they're creepy and I reeeeaally don't like 'em.**

 _You're disgusting. But yeah, I... I'm not sure what to do._ Naruto clung to Kurama for a moment. _I guess I better go, huh?_ He let go of Kurama reluctantly. Kurama grasped Naruto's arm.

 **You're the monarch of Uzushio and a native of Hi no Kuni. Don't forget, Uzumaki Naruto: You are your own being.**

Naruto nodded at him. _I won't,_ he promised.

Naruto went out of his mindscape, facing forward.

"Stop here!" Neji's voice made him slow down immediately, so it was not a soft landing. Despite that, Naruto landed on his feet.

"What is it you see?" he asked Neji, aqua eyes flashing as he loosened his katana.

"A Five Point Seal," Neji replied. "With multiple other seals holding it closed."

"Guide me to the others," Naruto ordered, summoning five clones.

Neji nodded and gazed around, his Byakugan actually intimidating, quickly telling her where they were located. The clones all ripped it off at once, and Neji stared into the cave.

An expression of fear skittered across his face.

"There's a giant statue in there, sucking out Gaara-san's chakra," Neji said to her. "But the chakra is red, mixed with his blue - just like yours!"

His eyes became horrified as he turned his Byakugan eyes to Naruto, who looked determined. He took out his katana, and Sakura readied her fist.

"Now." Naruto's voice was dark.

Sakura slammed a fist into the boulder, and it exploded.

The dust settled. There was a thud.

Naruto stared into the mouth of the cave.

"Gaara?" he asked in a heartbreaking whisper.

"Well, well, well." Akasuna no Sasori stepped out of the cave. "You're here at last."

Naruto's blood pressure skyrocketed, and so did his hate. Blood red eyes glared at Sasori, the katana melting and becoming metal claws that shrank to coat the claws already formed on his hands. Red chakra lazily bubbled into four - no, five - tails.

And a chilling roar came from his mouth.

For the first time in his life, Naruto lost complete control of the Kyuubi. Both molded into one being, and that being was a mass of rage and anger.

A chilling howl made everyone back away from the angry jinchuuriki.


	55. 55

_Who... Am I?_ Naruto's thoughts were rather sluggish. All he could remember was Gaara -

He opened his eyes. He was in a rather dark and wet tunnel - his own mind. He knew it was his own mind. One of the darkest parts of it.

Slowly, he recalled everything, standing as he did. But what he couldn't figure out was why he was right there, inside his own mind.

"You don't remember, huh?"

He turned. His female self stood there, looking amused.

"I don't blame you. I don't when I switch out. Yamanaka mind technique when we were younger. Ino liked to play with jutsu of her clan."

"Switch?" Naruto frowned.

"Yeah, I mean, we're the same person, but we switch, right? We have to use the henge jutsu. It didn't used to be like that. We didn't have to use the henge to switch ourselves." She looked wistful. "You'll probably forget. It's why Ino doesn't talk to us."

"That and her parents probably warned her away from us," Naruto reminded her.

"True," conceded the other. She sat down on a sidewalk-like area.

"So why am I here?" Naruto asked her.

"Oh, because Yami took over. They hate it when our friends are killed. Well, they and Kurama are fighting."

"Yami?" Naruto frowned.

"Manifestation of our Yang energy," explained the other. "And our rage."

"Oh." Naruto examined his surroundings. "What should we do?"

"Well, we kind of do need to bring them back here," the other told him with raised eyebrows. "Unless you want the mixture of Kurama and our Yang parts to kill everyone in the direct vicinity... Including Neji."

"Alright!" Naruto nodded. "How do we do that?"

The other frowned. "...I have no clue."

~:~

Neji spun around, his Kaiten exploding from his tenketsu points and blasting away the burning red chakra of the Kyuubi.

"Come on Naruto, snap out of it!" Neji called to the Kyuubified teen, who simply guarded Gaara from being touched. Not even the amounts of poison Sasori was injecting into his system were working.

And it was a LOT of poison, judging by the fact he was constantly having to replace his ninja puppets as he broke them.

"Sakura, Chiyo. Get the poison antidote from Sasori. I will try to stop Naruto." Without waiting, Neji darted forward, chakra cushioning his palms.

~:~

Saki slipped into the North hideout of Orochimaru right behind Tayuya. Kabuto wasn't there, which she was thankful for.

"Tayuya!" A redheaded woman with glasses appeared out of nowhere. "What are you doing?"

"Rescuing you. Come on!" Saki looked around before nodded to Tayuya, then walking back down the hall to see that there was nobody coming yet.

She turned back around, popping her head around the corner.

"Hurry!" she urged them. "We've got very little time!"

Karin glanced at Saki. "Is she the former Uchiha prisoner?"

"Former. Come on," Tayuya snapped.

They bunched together and Saki opened her Mangekyou eyes. Her Susano'o half formed itself around her, and her left eye spun, slowing time down outside her Susano'o.

She walked out calmly, and it was quite slow work. It was funny to watch the world happen in slow motion, though. Saki kept walking as far as she could before canceling it and sitting down, where she promptly dry-heaved and gagged. Breathing deeply, she concentrated on keeping her stomach where it belonged.

"Need chakra?" Karin asked.

"I need food," Saki complained hungrily. "I haven't eaten for two days and I'm running on empty right now." Saki sighed. "But complaining won't get us anywhere. Find a town where I can get food and I'll be satisfied!"

~:~

Tsunade stared at the report with a pale face and shaking fingers.

"Is this correct?" she demanded harshly of the ANBU, who nodded.

She rested the paper on the desk, her fingers still trembling.

"All ANBU. Arrest Uchiha Obito at once."

They vanished, scattering.

~"~

Obito was eating with Iruka when he was suddenly grasped and his Sharingan was cut off. He could see through his eye that Kakashi had, and heard Kakashi demanding answers from the ANBU.

"What is going on?!" Kakashi demanded. "Why are you arresting him?!"

"Uchiha Obito is being arrested for the murder of Yagura, the Sanbi jinchuuriki, and thirteen 'Ne' ANBU," came the voice of a female ANBU.

Obito could feel Tobi's fear.

 _What is it, Tobi?_

 **I wasn't supposed to tell you! Kuro-Zetsu's going to replace me... But... But he's controlling you! You don't have a choice! Neither do I, really...**

Tobi sounded miserable.

 _It's okay, Tobi. We'll... Find a way to keep you safe._ Even if Obito had to give in to Kuro-Zetsu.

He felt terrible, though - _did I really kill Yagura?_

~:~

"YAMI!" Naruto called for the version of him as the other self, the female self, of him called for her Yami half.

After who knows how long of doing that, something seemed to shift. A red-and-black eyed male formed in front of them.

"Hello, Yami," Naruto said, his voice hoarse from yelling. "I want my body back."

"You sure about that?" Yami asked with a sneer.

"Positive," replied Naruto.

"Every time you change into her, your Yang energy affects her. Affects us all. At the rate you're going, we'll all die before we turn 20."

"I know," Naruto snapped. "All this means is that I can't change into a girl." He'd managed it before, under cover in a ramen shop with Sasuke and Sakura. But... Still. On the days he was supposed to be a _she_ , he had felt uncomfortable in his own skin. "I can do it," he said readily.

He could wait until he was gathering nature energy. Kikiya had stated that her own Yin chakra inside Naruto, while dangerous, could help him to create his own Yin chakra. If the Kyuubi had his Yin chakra in place of the Yang, then Naruto would technically have the same problem considering that Naruto would still have an imbalance.

Yami sighed. "Moron. It'll affect you even if you're a male. Oh, well." He turned to the wall. "On'nanako, come back!"

A Yami version of the female half of Naruto appeared, her eyes hard.

Then Naruto was gone, back in control.

~:~

Sasori, having given up the antidote in exchange for his life, had long since fled when Naruto finally came back. The day was shifting slowly into night, with the Kazekage gone to give Kankuro the antidote.

Naruto's skin was pretty badly burned, but that was nothing compared to the coughs Naruto was giving. So much that he was coughing up blood. His sword had reappeared, and when he finally sagged against a tree and took in Gaara's body, he started to cry.

Nobody moved for a long moment.

"Do you care for him?" Chiyo's voice made Naruto look up.

"I don't cry for just anyone," he said gruffly. "I care for him like a friend."

Chiyo sighed. "I suppose, then... It's time." She moved to kneel beside Gaara, then turned to Naruto. "I need a focus and more chakra if I am to give him his life back. A life for a life."

Naruto nodded, placing his hands under hers.

Gray chakra appeared, then turned a dark green as Naruto summoned his chakra.

"Sakura. Come over here and get his heart pumping."

Sakura did as she was told, placing her hand on his heart and just barely squeezing it.

"Now, Naruto. Close your eyes and be the anchor Gaara needs."

Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes.

~:~

 _Who am I? I am Gaara. Who is Gaara? Who is me?_

The redheaded Kazekage floated in nothingness as he seemed to regress to child again, all alone and crying.

Then -

"Gaara!" Gaara turned. A blonde-haired girl who seemed to waver before turning into a boy with slightly wet eyes was holding a red ball. It seemed to signify her/his loneliness - and Gaara's, too. "Wanna play?"

He paused before nodding.

Before stopping and shaking his head, thinking that it was just an illusion.

And just like that, it reset, him being alone and crying.

And then a hand was on his shoulder, and he stopped as he turned. The same blonde child turned into the blonde boy Naruto he'd fought and later the girl Naruto he'd known was Naruto simply by a sensing of his/her chakra, despite her being redheaded.

"Gaara," the girl said to him with a grin before switching genders with a poof. "Let's go home. Everyone's waiting."

Those aqua eyes were so warm, and Gaara found himself trusting them.

He took her hand.


	56. 56

Naruto's eyes opened. Sakura had moved away.

Chiyo was on her last legs; and Naruto looked at her.

"Thank you, Chiyo- _hime_."

Chiyo blushed a little at the 'hime'. Naruto found himself grinning. Apparently he had a charm even foreign grandmothers couldn't be immune to.

Sakura caught her when she fell, and Naruto fed a little demon chakra to Gaara.

That seemed to do the trick. Gaara's eyes opened for a minute before closing again.

His chest moved up and down.

"His chakra network is running strongly," Neji reported.

Naruto sighed in relief. "That's good."

The chakra glow died. And Naruto started to cough before collapsing, unconscious.

~:~

Gaara woke up to the smell of antiseptic. Which was a first. Both waking up and smelling antiseptic first thing.

He looked around, and realized he was in the hospital. With Kankuro and Naruto.

Kankuro was wide awake and frowning as he messed with puppet parts. Naruto was sleeping soundly.

"He's been unconscious for three days," Kankuro spoke up, never looking at his brother. "The Konoha ninja had to leave."

"I was dead," Gaara said obviously.

"Yep," Kankurou replied. He didn't seem to really be listening to him.

"What happened? I was dead, and now I'm alive." He felt slight panic.

Kankuro set his puppet parts down.

"Chiyo used her Reanimation jutsu to bring you back to life." He said it quickly, but it was definitely a blow. To both Suna and Gaara himself.

"A-and the Ichibi?"

"The Akatsuki took it out of you." He looked down at his puppet parts. "According to Maito Gai, Akasuna no Sasori remains unaware that Naruto is in fact Naruto seeing as Naruto shouldn't be able to turn into a boy, which means that he's safe."

Gaara nodded, then laid back down, not really wanting to speak.

~:~

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night. He grabbed his sword and gourd, then glanced back to see Gaara sleeping peacefully, with Kankuro asleep. He sighed and made his bed with sand, making, with slight difficulty, the sand turn into kanji afterwards and spell out 'thank you'.

Then he left silently.

He flew out the entrance to Suna, disregarding the Suna nin standing guard.

He needed information, and he turned towards the one place he had barely set foot in: Iwagakure.

~:~

TWO WEEKS LATER

Naruto sat in the Tsuchikage's office, blood crusting his uniform. Two dead Iwa Black Ops ninja sat next to the door. Gruesome, but he needed the information Kurama had told him to get. He sifted through the old man's papers, sitting in his seat.

Said old man was shoved into the room thanks to Kurama's ability with genjutsu and Naruto's abilities with illusion. With two kunai, Naruto kill the two men.

He was probably being a bit brutal, but this was necessary.

"Hello, Tsuchikage." His eyes flickered up to meet the shocked old man as the door shut. "I'm in a bit of a fix, here." He leaned on the desk with his elbows, entwined his hands, and looked at the old man over them with a faux stern expression on his face. "Tell me something, and then I'll leave." His escape route was already planned.

"What makes you think I'll tell _you_?" he demanded. Naruto let red chakra flare around him.

"You'll tell me, or I'll do like the Sharingan and put you in a genjutsu so you'll tell me," Naruto stated simply, leaning back. "I spent two weeks infiltrating Iwa. Easy, now that I think about it. People are so easy to believe an Uzumaki all alone." He then stood. "At least indulge me for a few seconds." He walked over to the file cabinet and opened it, finding the file he had replaced there. "I met a guy the other day. Nice guy, too. Kinda saved my life once. And he was the enemy. But then he said something that made me think about several other things." He slammed the file down on Oonoki's desk. "Tell me, old man Tsuchikage." His eyes met the Tsuchikage's. "Who exactly is Bakuhatsu no Deidara?"

The old man swallowed.

~:~

How did he figure it out? His plan had been _flawless_. He'd had the seal master in Iwa construct the seal, then killed him to keep it quiet. All he did was grow a clone, use his Particle Style, and tada! Deidara was created. A whole new person.

Unless... The seal master's seal had eroded. That was always a possibility, especially since the seal master was never particularly the best. That had always been the Sannin Jiraiya's forte.

Plus, the foolish Namikaze was a seal expert himself.

"I honestly found this letter quite odd when he left it to me." He was brought out of his thoughts by the boy unfolding a well-creased letter. "See, I met him before he died. Twenty years ago. I'm not that old, but let's just say that time travel is a thing of the past for me." He looked at Oonoki. "As far as I know, he couldn't have erased his own memories without erasing his students' memories or his wife's memories, or even another Konoha jounin's memories. I never liked the guy, I guess I kind of know why he hated me," he added as an afterthought. "But back on the subject. Tell me what happened to my father, Namikaze Minato."

The boy waited, his face hard.

"And if I don't?"

"I go straight to his mother, the Hokage, and three nations will be on your ass." His face was unnervingly calm. "Konohagakure no Sato, Sunagakure no Sato, and Uzushiogakure no Sato."

Oonoki stared at him. His red hair, his aqua eyes.

"Impossible," he said after a moment. "I was there - I wiped Uzu out!"

A nasty smile came over the brat's lips.

"Survivors, old man. Next time when wiping out a country, make sure there's no survivors left." He paused for a moment. "Now tell me."

Oonoki glanced out his window.

"Oh, your Black Ops are very nice," the brat said, playing with a kunai. "Mixture of genjutsu and simple fox magic makes them _my_ Black Ops, though." He spun green fire in his fingers. "You're playing with fire, old man. I suggest you speak before I let loose."

"I sealed Minato away when he was visiting on a diplomatic visit." Oonoki didn't really want to die, and he was not quite sure what the kid was going to do with the green fire. It looked quite deadly. "I created a clone of him, sent him to Konoha with all the mannerisms and charisma of the Hokage six months before his death."

The boy nodded, looking at him and settling in his chair. "I see. Then?"

"Then I used my Kekkei Tota, the Particle Style. Using it, I was able to de-age Namikaze, give him a seal and create false memories of his life in Iwa. I made everyone add Deidara to their lists. And Deidara even fought the fake Namikaze once. It was my way of one-upping Konoha."

"It was a shit plan," the kid said after a moment. "Were you going to pretend forever?"

"I thought the seal would last longer," Oonoki said, glaring at him. "Are you done?"

"I am," the kid nodded. Then he burst into smoke, and when the smoke cleared, the Tsuchikage knocked himself out because of a very hot and busty blonde inside his office.

Little did he know that the busty blonde returned to being the redheaded boy, who shook his head as he passed the Tsuchikage. "Dumbass. Who gets felled by a genin-level technique? Let alone a Kage?"

(In the afterlife, a certain Sandaime glared at nothing in particular as he suddenly thought of Naruto's technique.)

~:~

Naruto walked into Konoha, the information stored in his head. He walked to the Hokage's office, and he was directed to ANBU T&I.

Technically speaking, he was a foreign ninja. But... Naruto sucked at following the rules. Plus, hello? He'd sneaked into T&I before.

Slipping in was laughably easy now, considering the fact Naruto simply had to weave a small illusion. Those were easy; and the ANBU just stood there as he stalked in.

He darted through the headquarters, passing Anko but ignoring her. He followed his instincts, and his instincts told him to follow the screams.

He got down there and saw Tsunade looking shocked, and lightning arcing all over Deidara's body.

"Stop trying to impersonate the Fourth!" Inoichi glared at the prone form on the table.

"The princess... Obito, Rin... AHHH!" More lightning.

"ENOUGH!" Naruto found himself shouting. "He's telling the truth!"

Dead silence.

Naruto walked, unchallenged, into the room. Inoichi looked up sharply.

"He's telling the truth," Naruto repeated in a quiet tone. "I told him my name was Umino Rin once. He said it was better off if it were 'Naruto'." He took off all the electric-conducting things off of him. "Also... The Tsuchikage confirmed it."

Inoichi glanced at him.

"Plus, you know, the bijuu in my stomach knows what my tou-san's chakra feels like, and apparently both the fake Minato and the real one have the same signature now." He helped his burned father up. "I got him. He's not a spy."

He dragged his father out of the room, scowling at anyone but Tsunade. She was his mother, after all, and the Hokage to boot.


	57. 57

"Did you hear?" Saki wondered what the fuss was all about as she dragged herself to Naruto's home. "The Yondaime Hokage is back!"

Saki's eyebrows shot up, before she winced as she recalled her third eye. But still, she kind of wondered what the hell they were chatting about. Well, she walked towards Naruto's, knowing that she could crash there if needed.

She let herself in, noticing the murmur of low voices.

"Yo!" she called, heading to the voices and entering the room. She eyed what was going on, sighed, and walked to the fridge. "So the rumors were true, after all. The Yondaime Hokage is back. Naruto, can I have this chocolate bar in your fridge? I'm starving."

"Sure." Naruto turned back to Tsunade. "I don't think so. He can't be an Akatsuki spy."

"He admitted to it, Naruto. That's what's worrying. He was also crying. Then he vanished."

"So he killed Yagura, left his body in a very identifiable place, but the Sanbi was nowhere to be seen. Obito isn't a traitor, and I refuse to believe he is. I bet he's just being manipulated... Or manipulating Kuro-Zetsu!" Naruto snapped his fingers.

"Obito's evil?" Saki asked, tilting her head.

"Possibly," Naruto told her.

Saki slammed her head on the table, then yelped and clutched her bruised third eye. "Kami dammit, why do I forget I have a third eye every time I do something stupid?!"

"Sorry," the Yondaime said with a small smile. "But who are you?"

"Uchiha Saki, only female Uchiha left alive, and might I say, you are looking mighty fine, sir." Saki winked at him.

Naruto facepalmed. "Saki, every time I think you have limits you change my mind."

"I do have limits! Come on, Naru-kun, I couldn't just give up the chance to flirt with the Yondaime! It's not like you wouldn't take the chance to flirt with Madara, my ancestor." Saki blinked when Naruto turned a reddish hue and looked away. Saki looked horrified. "When?"

"Um, Uzushio temple incident," the teenage boy replied, scratching the back of his neck. "We went into the past, and I kinda. Um. Flirted with Madara after Neji gave me a concussion. Same principal, sort of. Anyway, I had the excuse of a concussion. And, by the way, he's not fine. His brain is currently scrambled eggs because of what the Tsuchikage did to him."

Saki grimaced. "I'm allergic to eggs."

Naruto stared at her.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope."

~:~

"The Elders are pushing for a political marriage now, before you go off on your training with the Sages and before you turn fifteen,," Tsunade said to Naruto in her office a week later. Naruto had turned to her girl form, still in pain but hiding it well. "These are the viable candidates, and all of them have expressed a noncaring attitude about your gender-switching."

"All three of the Sand Siblings want to marry me?!" Naruto squeaked, staring at the three she knew well. "Two people in Kumo... Ooh, I know this dude!" Naruto tapped the picture of Darui. "But who's she?" A girl with ashy blonde hair was in the picture, also of Kumo origin.

"Ni'i Yugito," Tsunade said. "It came a few days ago, but here's a late entry." A profile of an arrogant-looking teenager that Naruto instantly disliked the look of was tossed down. "That is Iwa no Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage. Apparently he was pleased by your gall and decided to ask for you to marry his granddaughter whether she likes it or not."

Naruto shook her head and pushed the picture back. "I'm still angry at them. Too angry right now."

Tsunade nodded. "There's also Terumi Mei of Kiri or Ao of Kiri, both of whom are much older than you."

"I don't mind the age difference as much as I mind what they did to Uzu in the Second Shinobi Great War," Naruto admitted. "I guess I still hold a grudge. I felt my island's pain. Also, I'd rather not marry someone I didn't know."

Tsunade nodded and placed the photos with Kurotsuchi's. "These are all that's left. While we do have a political alliance with Suna, the Yondaime Kazekage has been speaking of late of breaking it off. And we're on relatively good terms with Kumogakure, though since the letter went through Darui-san first I would recommend not choosing either of them considering you told them you were dead. I almost had a heart attack when I got semi-sincere apologies from the Raikage on how my granddaughter was dead," Tsunade said, shooting a glare at her. "So, in all consideration, I'd choose one of the Sand Siblings. Gaara sent me a letter personally, asking for my permission to court you."

Naruto unconsciously smiled to herself.

Tsunade smirked to herself when she saw that.

"Also, he said you shouldn't have left Suna before you were ready to go. He seemed rather put out that you didn't stay," Tsunade added.

"I had a Tsuchikage to beat answers out of!" the teenage jinchuuriki protested.

"Yeah, and you have two entries in the Bingo Book." Tsunade withdrew a Bingo Book.

One was her female form, and the other was her male form. Both had the same name, and Naruto bent a little closer, realizing she'd never paid much attention to the differences of her male and female form. Her female form definitely looked delicate, and her male form looked stronger. It said that her two forms were twins, that the female side was being controlled by the Akatsuki, and that the male side had the second half of the Kyuubi. Either way, the 'DECEASED' notation on her female form was bound to get attention by someone inside the Akatsuki, most likely Itachi.

"I suppose I should expect a visit from Itachi and Kisame soon," Naruto said, wincing a bit.

Tsunade sighed. She turned to look out at the window.

"Possibly, yes," Tsunade nodded. "However, as soon as the marriage is finished, then you can go train with the Toads. Where do you want the marriage?"

Naruto frowned.

 **Takigakure. I have something I want to check in there, if it's there. I keep sensing it fleetingly.**

Naruto repeated the location, and at Tsunade's raised eyebrow, she explained.

"Ah." Tsunade nodded. "I see. Go get Iruka's permission... Who?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think?" she asked, looking at Gaara's photo briefly. "If he's okay with it, anyway," she said. "But I'm marrying him as a civilian of Konoha," she warned Tsunade. "I'm not under the Shodai's Law anymore. I'm under nobody's but my own law now... Which is kinda sad..." Naruto moped, depression lines appearing instantly and she hunched over.

Tsunade flicked her.

"Itai!" Naruto felt pain as her back smashed into the wall. "That hurt!"

"Stop being moody and depressed, then," Tsunade countered. "Now shoo. I have letters to send."

Naruto scampered out of the office, sighing in relief when she was out. She didn't want to see Tsunade in a mood.

~:~

UZUSHIO

"Thank you, Nia." In her home, the main castle overlooking the entire island, Naruto sat at a desk silently agonizing over how much work it took to run a country.

She blinked. Why didn't she just make another complete copy of herself, split the workload?

Nia bowed. "Will that be all, Highness?!"

Naruto sweatdropped. No matter what gender, she couldn't get Nia to call her 'Naruto'.

"For now, yes." She went back to look at the documents as Nia sashayed out. A list of clans and their relocation area stood out to her. "Wait, Nia!"

Nia stopped, a hand on the door.

"The clan lists. Can you send a messenger to the places where these clans relocated, such as the Kurama clan?"

Nia smiled. "Of course, my lady."

She bowed and Naruto slammed her head on the desk in irritation.

~:~

KIRI

Terumi Mei's papers were scattered all over her desk as the Kage slept on her desk. She snored lightly, not even noticing as one of her jounin entered the room.

"Mizukage-sama?" She sat up straight, not noticing the smudged ink that said 'Ao' on her face.

"What is it?" she asked groggily.

"You have a letter from another ninja village. Not sure who it's from," the jounin said, setting it down. It had her name on it.

Mei opened the letter.

 _To Terumi Mei, or the current leader of the Terumi Clan:_

 _Our nation is currently small, and it holds a great grudge against the nation of Water. However, we would like to hold that grudge and extend you and your clan an invitation to a formal event. Other clans may be in attendance._

 _We will speak more once you reply._

 _Sincerely,_

 _A possible ally_

Mei rubbed her face. "This letter is as vague as fuck. Also, they didn't get the memo that I'm the last of my clan?"

Angrily, she tossed the letter elsewhere. But then, she walked over and grabbed the envelope.

To hold the letter closed, a wax seal had been placed on the envelope. Something about it rang a bell in her memory.

It was a simple 'U' with elegant swirls around it. That was why it had been difficult to see.

She sighed and set the envelope down. How would she know what it was?

She rifled through her papers, looking through several interesting papers and sighing as she went to write.

Ao entered the room. "Kiri's proposals have been politely rejected by the Hokage," he said, setting down the two official-looking documents.

Mei picked the one that she had been addressed in.

 _Mizukage-dono,_

 _I regret to inform you that the gender-fluid civilian has declined your proposal. However, we extend you the invitation of enjoying the wedding in Takigakure no Sato between the civilian Uzumaki Naruto and the Godaime Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara._

 _You have my sincerest apologies. You will find an official invitation arriving soon._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Senju Tsunade, Godaime Hokage_

Uzumaki... Her eyes trailed to the envelope, and she got the entire message.

She slammed her head against the desk.

"Ao!"

He jerked, looking at her with wide eyes as she nursed the bump on her head.

"Find me some red accessories."

~:~

The Tsuchikage scowled at the letter of apology. But he and Kurotsuchi had been invited, even if it was a formality.

He sighed.

His mind went to what he'd told the Uzumaki boy. _I wiped it out._ Uzushio. An Uzumaki part of Uzushio would have been a great alliance.

He sighed. He knew his granddaughter would not have been a match for this gender fluid person; she had always been attracted to Deidara.

With another sigh, he went to tell his daughter that they were going to attend a wedding.

~:~

Bakahatsu no Deidara - no, Namikaze Minato.

It was still hard to reconcile that he was a terrorist in all countries except his daughter's. And it was kind of strange to see his daughter again, after all these years, and even more strange to realize his daughter could turn into his son. It was hard, but he was beginning to get over it.

Saki, his daughter's Uchiha friend, often came by, flirted with him, and spoke to Naruto about random things.

Including the one his daughter called her mother; it was Umino Iruka who was her pseudo-mother and Kakashi her pseudo-father.

He sighed as his daughter made onigiri. He was still bedridden, and it was rather difficult to talk to her when she was cooking.

"Naruto," he asked her, seeing her wince again, as she had been every few hours. "What's wrong?"

"Your fake made an idiotic mistake," she said, turning into a boy and letting a mild expression of relief cross his face. "He sealed the Yang half of the Kyuubi into his female daughter."

Minato frowned. "But you can stay a male for the duration of your life and live, can't you?"

Naruto didn't respond for a few moments. When he did, he turned to face his father, guilt on his face.

"I have, tops, five years to live, taking into consideration using chakra extensively every day. Six years if I can get Yin energy into my body on a weekly basis even with chakra consumption. Ten at most if I retired as a ninja right now. Either way, I'm dying because of the imbalance because I was born female."

Every word out of his mouth made Minato feel as though he'd been punched repeatedly.

"You don't have a chance," he whispered hoarsely. "You'll die either way."

"Yep!" He smiled a fake smile. "Don't worry about it, Dad. I'll be in Uzushio, ruling alone there for the rest of my life, so really - you don't need to worry."

A crow flew in. Naruto tensed as the crow transformed.

"Naruto-kun." Uchiha Itachi stared at the Uzumaki boy. "Are you insane?" he questioned him.

Minato frowned.

"It was either that or label myself a target, Itachi," Naruto replied, looking wary. "Are you here to take me to the Akatsuki?"

"No," Itachi replied. "I can't stay. Kisame gets suspicious. And jealous."

He popped, a single feather falling to the ground.

Naruto sighed. "Well, that was information I did not need to know." He paused. "Why the hell did he come here and not nab me?! I was vulnerable!"

"You sound as though you want him to take you," Minato pointed out.

Naruto glanced at him. "Itachi and I were friends at one point. Ish. I guess you could say that, at least. I was more friendly with his cousin."

"Which one?" Minato asked.

Saki slipped in the window. "My older brother, Shisui."

Naruto looked offended. "Are you blurting that out to everyone now?!"

"He's dead, and I've had years to accept that," Saki said after a minute of seriously contemplating her question. "As for your question, no, just the people who ask. Don't be vague."

"I _wanted_ to be vague," Naruto said mutinously. He finished what he was making and smiled in relief. "Tempura is done!"

"Yum!" Saki nabbed a plate. "Here, hot Kage," she winked, shoving the plate into his lap. She took Naruto's plate, who protested and hit her.

"I made that for me, thief!"

"We share," Saki offered. "I had D-Ranks all day."

"Yeah, and I have a political marriage coming up!"

"YOU WHAT?!" Minato yelled, spitting out his fried green beans.

Saki was staring at her with wide eyes and a gaping jaw.

Naruto stared at them, eyes wide. "I... Um... I didn't want Saki to have to be the one to have a forced marriage on her! Itachi is... Itachi, okay? I think Itachi's better than anyone!"

Saki raised an eyebrow, and Naruto went red. "I meant... DAMN IT, SAKI! You should marry who you want to! Political pawns are not fun!"

"Have you told Iruka?" Saki asked, a smirk appearing on her face.

Naruto went pale. "No," she squeaked. "I can't tell him!"

"Tell who?" Kakashi asked, stepping in with a guy with a scar across his nose.

"Is that Iruka?" Minato questioned, getting his former student's attention.

"Who are you?" Kakashi frowned.

Minato swallowed, recalling his mother's advice. _Don't tell anyone but those who already know who you are. It's why we cut your hair halfway instead of the length you like it at._

"Noriko." Minato smiled at him fakely. "Namikaze Noriko. I'm Naruto's uncle."

"You look like a girl to me," Kakashi said bluntly.

Minato's eye twitched.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, his darling sensei, and this is Iruka, his overprotective kaa-san, whom I'm dating," Kakashi went on brightly. "Are you sure you're not a girl?"

Naruto snorted quietly.

Minato decided to get revenge on him. "Positive. Naruto was just telling me he was entering a political marriage."

Iruka paled. "What?!" he squawked. "Who made you? Who are you marrying?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"The Elders, the Godaime Kazekage, and I didn't particularly want you to get executed for murdering the Elders," Naruto answered honestly. "It was either that or Saki be used as a political pawn. Plus," he added over Iruka opening his mouth, "Gaara doesn't mind my gender-fluidity and I can probably get an alliance for Uzu. Adding to that, Gaara is the only one who coud ever understand me." Iruka shut his mouth, his eyes going sad. "Want some tempura?" Naruto took the speechless Saki's plate and shoved it at Iruka.

"Neji understands you well, too," Saki finally said. "I think he really likes you. He's going to be very disappointed when he finds out you're going to marry Gaara."

"He doesn't seem to care for my gender fluidity, and I'm not comfortable hiding it," Naruto said stoutly.

"Have you asked him about it?" Saki wondered.

"Haven't exactly had the time lately," Naruto told her. "I've been helping the 'Ne' members get acclimated to the ninja system as well as getting missions done around the village. Not much time for friends when I'm so busy trying to get on the Elders' good sides."

Saki tilted her head. "True, that. Which means we get the old gang back together and have some barbecue~" She grinned.

Naruto shook his head. "Got to get ready to marry Gaara."

Saki facefaulted.

"Is there any time you're free?"

Naruto shook his head. "After that, I'm headed back to the Summon Realm to finish training."

"About that," Kakashi said suddenly. "Any progress on your Yin acquisition?"

Naruto's face went dim, and he looked away, guilt on his face.

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "Naruto, what aren't you telling us?"

Naruto sighed and looked up.

"I'm dying because of the imbalance. If I'd had both halves of the Kyuubi, I don't think it would have been a problem." In the silence, Naruto grabbed a blank sheet of paper and drew on it with colored ink. A circle was even colored, one half red, and one half purple. "This is my Yin." He tapped the purple. "This is my Yang." He tapped the red. "Now, this is the Kyuubi's Yin and yang." An even bigger circle was colored purely red. "See, right now I have the complete Yang, and the fa - er, the Yondaime has it and is currently in the Shinigami's stomach, so I'm going to die in less than ten years." Naruto's statement chilled the room rapidly. Saki looked beyond horrified.

"What about giving Yin energy?" asked Minato quietly.

"The amount I need is equal to the Yin Kyuubi; and even then it would run out fairly quickly. I've tried that," Naruto said, smiling sadly. "Senjutsu aides my life-force from depleting quickly, but I can't hold that indefinitely right now and I'd rather not become a monk. No offense to them, but I don't want to meditate all my life."

Saki snapped her fingers. "Switch bodies all the time."

"I can't," Naruto countered. "If I do that, the problem stays. I can't switch into a girl right now, and it's giving me an... Well, like an _itch_. It's uncomfortable, and I really want to change, but I can't. I change to a girl, I won't be able to live a year."

His doom-filled words were punctuated by his oil catching fire.


	58. 58

"At least your plant survived." Saki smirked at Naruto's mournful look at the apartment he'd grown up in.

Speaking of, the owner waddled up.

"Stupid freak! What did you do to my complex?!" He slapped Naruto across the face. Naruto fell, looking completely shocked.

Saki's eyes swirled into their Mangekyou. "Touch him again," Saki hissed, glaring at him.

Kakashi looked angry beyond belief, and Iruka looked ready to explode.

"Hello," Noriko said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. "I'm Naruto's uncle. I accidentally lit the kitchen on fire, and was only able to get my lovely niece's most beloved items, such as her little plant and team photos. She lost her home. You have lost very little, as this place is a dump that nobody has lived in for years. Well, I suppose nephew is the appropriate term here, isn't it?"

The man was glaring at Noriko, and Iruka settled on smiling sadistically as he stepped forward, bringing out a kunai.

"Hi, I'm Chuunin Instructor Iruka," he said as pleasantly as he ever was. Naruto paled at that tone. Sadistically smiling and pleasant-voiced Iruka was never a good sign. "Her father figure. If you have a problem, please, take a good look at what's in my left hand." A kunai was hidden in his hand. "This here is my friend, Kunai. You want to personally meet Kunai?"

Naruto swallowed, sweating.

Technically, Iruka was breaking no laws. Saying he had a 'friend' named 'Kunai' and asking if he wanted to meet them, it wouldn't really be taken out of context. Iruka's left hand was hidden in shadow, so everyone who was only half listening in would only give a small glance to it and then ignore it.

Unless you were an ANBU, and Iruka was almost positive ANBU were watching. But they weren't caring that he was so obviously threatening a civilian, just so long as he didn't harm him.

Suddenly, Saki lunged forward, vanishing. A nasty crack and the civilian was holding his arm, staring at it in shock.

"Saki!" Naruto shouted. Iruka frowned, taking a glance at the Uchiha's eyes and giving a double take. Red eyes glared angrily at the civilian.

"How dare you hit Naruto," Saki snarled at him. "I should kill you for what you've done!" Saki's eyes spun, blood starting to fall from her eyes, and a green sword made of pure chakra formed. Saki shoved it forward, but at the last minute, Naruto was there, shielding him.

With a sickening sucking sound, Naruto was pierced with the blade.

However, her eyes burned red.

"A genjutsu has been placed around her," Naruto snapped. "Get out of here, civilian," he growled, turning her head to look at him. With a yell, the civilian was running, and Saki yelled, rage in her eyes. But Iruka noticed the glazed eyes that came with a genjutsu.

"Can you break it?" Iruka asked Naruto, who winced and shrugged... Then nodded emphatically.

He took one hand off the sword, and green fire was conjured. Looking at him, Naruto's eyes had gone catlike, this time with only hints of red.

 _"Esaelere htus tujneg,"_ he said, and the fire blazed, shooting around Saki. It burned red, and Naruto seemed to concentrate more. Slowly, the fire turned back to green.

Saki collapsed, the sword dissipating.

The fire concentrated on her mind.

"Well, that's odd. Someone made her protect me above all, and recently too," Naruto frowned, sitting down heavily.

"I've never seen that fire color before," Kakashi said, frowning.

"Part of my kitsune contract. I learned beginner kitsune tricks." Naruto stared at Saki. "I can do basic things, like releasing genjutsu. I've done it before. Much more complicated genjutsus, too."

He took a few deep breaths. Iruka noticed the blood and immediately called basic healing jutsu to his hands, glowing green and ripping off his pseudo-son's shirt.

"Wow, Iruka-sensei, ripping off my shirt! How bold," Naruto grinned.

Iruka gave him a filthy look, and Naruto winced as Iruka placed his hand on the already-closing hole.

He'd had one shock today. He didn't need another.

~:~

Naruto ambled up to the gate of the Hyuuga compound, looking at the Branch member there.

"Yo!" he said to the guard. "Is Neji here? And is he busy?"

He'd decided on civilian clothes today. His temporary Konoha headband was around his neck, and he grinned at the guard.

"Stay here," the guard ordered. Naruto nodded as the guard left his post.

Neji walked out not two minutes later, looking quite at peace, and the guard shifted back to his place.

"Hey, Neji!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Hello, Naruto," Neji greeted him cordially. "I have about half and hour to talk. Did you need something?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, just wondered if you wanted to get some dango," he grinned again. "Chat, hang out."

Neji nodded. "Sounds fine." He looked at the guard. "Ko, please tell my father I shall meet him back at the training grounds after I get some dango with Naruto."

Ko nodded.

~:~

The walk was quiet and very awkward.

Naruto couldn't stand the silence. "Okay, I have to know. Do you hate my male form?"

Neji blinked. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Naruto looked down. "It's just... Saki said something to me, and I... I don't want to regret anything right now, so I was wondering if my male form bothered you," he finished, lamely.

"Naruto, I could not hate you," Neji said, stopping in the middle of the market. Naruto flushed as eyes were on them, but Neji seemed unaffected. "I have liked you since you punched me in the Exams, Naruto, and I really would like to get to know you a lot better. Perhaps we could do something later this week?" Neji suggested.

Naruto bit his lip. "I - I can't," he said, looking away from Neji, who sighed a little.

"Alright."

Naruto walked to the dango stand, Neji behind him. He bought the dango, getting a surprising smile from the usually stern old lady, and realized she'd handed him the incorrect amount of change. "Madam, you -"

She shook her head and winked.

"Go, eat with that boy," she ordered. "Keep your money, child. Too long have I acted like I disliked you."

Naruto blinked, bewildered.

But he didn't argue, and he handed Neji the dango upon his return to him. The long-haired boy smiled at him, and Naruto smiled back, heart pounding.

A sensation of guilt made that smile vanish and look down again, and Naruto silently walked Neji back, the sense of awkwardness still there. Naruto stopped near the gate, then turned to leave as the guard opened his mouth to call to open the gate.

Neji caught his wrist.

"Naruto, please tell me what's wrong."

"I'm getting married." The words tasted like ash. "To Gaara. I don't really have a choice."

"Then why take me to get dango?" Neji asked, dropping Naruto's hand.

"Because you're still my friend!" Naruto declared sharply. "I wanted to talk to you, but since you only had a half hour, I wasn't going to just jabber on and tell you, 'oh, I'm getting married to Gaara'! Maybe I just wanted to see a friend in my very limited free time!" Naruto knew he was a hothead like his mother, but he shouldn't be getting riled up so easy. He knew it was because he had that mental scratch in his mind that chanted turn into a girl but he couldn't. He couldn't change. "I'm sorry that I ruined today. I have to go. Tsunade-sama wants to see me." Naruto jumped into the trees, leaving Neji standing there, staring after her, the dango in his hand forgotten.

~:~

Gaara stared at his father calmly. "Father, I will marry Naruto willingly. I have liked her since she knocked some sense into me."

Rasa raised an eyebrow. "Your sister was willing to do so. I even volunteered Kankuro."

"Temari is in love with another Konoha shinobi," Gaara replied carefully. "Naruto would never stand in the way of someone else's happiness. She would not stand in the way of Temari's, either. Besides, I am the Godaime Kazekage, an appointment you gave me when you decided to leave the position. I will do this for Suna."

Rasa nodded. "I see that you are set on it. Very well. Gather your belongings; we leave for Takigakure no Sato within the week."

Gaara nodded and left the room quickly.

~:~

 **He's here.** Taki no Fuu jumped up.

 _Who?_

 **The Kyuubi. Why is he here?!**

"Fuu!" Fuu violently started at Shibuki appeared behind her. "Come on, you have to help us get ready for the outsiders coming. It's to strengthen ties with Konoha. And possibly become an ally of Suna!" He was energetic and happy, something Fuu had not seen in him in ages. He'd been very stressed lately. "Though some people from the other Five Kage villages are coming. The Konoha shinobi have already arrived."

Fuu nodded. "Okay! I'll go help with whatever!" she beamed, hoping that Shibuki would tell her where exactly to go.

Shibuki sagged in relief. "Thank you! Um, protect the Hero Water - or what remains of it, anyway - and make sure the Konoha guests are happy! That's it!"

Fuu nodded and a clone of bugs appeared. It would guard the Hero Water as long as Fuu willed it.

She flew up, out of the tree. Then she flew to the hotel's roof, and its unoriginal name, Taki Hotel, gleamed below her.

She slipped into the hotel using the roof access, and the only maid there smiled at her in a harried, distracted manner. Fuu found out why.

Inside the first, booked room, there was a group of teenagers, yelling. The only ones not yelling were the dark haired ones; Fuu realized it was really between some of the girls and a guy. A delectable-looking redhead, if Fuu was being honest with herself. Which she usually was.

 **The redhead holds the Kyuubi,** the Nanabi, or Chomei, said in a hushed, awed tone.

Fuu cleared her throat. She realized that the girls were arguing in favor of the boy turning into a girl (was that even possible?) and staying with them, while the boy argued that he was marrying as a boy, and that should be that.

"Excuse me," Fuu said, loudly. Silence reigned. "My name is Fuu. I shall see to your every need here -"

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" The redhead interrupted, bouncing over to her. "I hold the Kyuubi. You must be the one who holds another bijuu."

Fuu looked at the others.

"We really don't care," the dark-haired girl with glasses said, pushing up her glasses. "Everyone, shut up and sit down."

Everyone, including the redhead, did.

"Naruto, stay in the guys' room or the girls' room. It doesn't matter, and frankly I don't think any of the guys care since all of you have dicks, okay?"

Fuu went red, as did the boys in the room. Actually, everyone but the palest boy in the room did.

"I will stay in the girls' room, and if I want to I'll hop over to your room and join you there, hunk." She winked suggestively at the redhead.

Naruto facepalmed. "WE'RE _NOT_ DATING, SAKI!"

Fuu tilted her head as the girl looked vaguely disappointed.


	59. 59

**Short chapter, but for a good reason. Hope you like~**

 **~:~**

Naruto looked outside. "You _sure_ the Raikage - or any of the Kage - are out there?"

"If they are, they've been told that since they're here they agreed to a mass Sharingan-induced _genjutsu,_ " Saki shrugged.

"How'd you manage that?" Naruto wondered, impressed.

Saki winced. "Don't kill me. Itachi and Kisame are here."

Naruto paled.

"I think so is Sasuke, but I can't be positive," Saki muttered with a frown. "Anyway, it's nearly time!"

Naruto was in her female form, as insisted by Tsunade. But instead of it being her _normal_ female form, black hair with delicate silver interwoven into the braid that circled her head fell against her neck. A blue wedding kimono dress, made with Karui's help, shifted as Naruto did. Half-sleeves exposed her arms, showing off the tattoos given to her when she sat on the Uzumaki throne. The dress itself hugged her body tightly, accentuating her developing curves. Her sword, never parted with her, was encased in a sheath pinned to her back. The sheath seemed to have a mind of its own, as it was now painted with lots of sakura blossoms.

Iruka would be the one giving her away, as in Taki it was explained that wedding tradition dictated that the father of the bride take her down, say a few words if he wanted to, and then give her to Gaara.

Tsunade had told her to choose Iruka or Kakashi to give her away. Naruto had chosen Iruka.

Kakashi hadn't been insulted. He'd immediately understood.

While Iruka was Naruto's mother figure, Iruka was also the one adult who'd acknowledged her first. Sure, she had Saki; but like Saki had pointed out, Saki was away most of the time. And with Itachi and Shisui, Shisui was dead and Itachi was a nukenin. Kakashi she hadn't met until she was eight... And that was the list of her most precious people when she was younger.

Plus, Saki was a girl, so...

Iruka appeared. He was in a formal yukata.

"Ready?"

Naruto nodded. "As I'll ever be," she said with a nervous chuckle.

Iruka took her arm, and they left. Saki was before them, in a peach-colored kimono, scattering sakura and rose petals.

The other people from the other nations rose as one, looking at her with something akin to envy.

A monk Asuma-sensei managed to pull some favor with stood up there calmly, despite the fact that Naruto was not a Buddhist.

The ceremony was done quickly - or the _official_ ceremony. Naruto, at the end of her vows, grabbed Gaara's other hand. Green fire appeared.

She took a deep breath and begun the official claiming. As a jinchuuriki, she _needed_ to claim Gaara as hers. It was something instinctual to her.

Gaara reacted, sand appearing.

Then, with a hiss of pain, the two elements switched, and the fire burned into Gaara's wrist while the sand seemed to do the same to Naruto's wrist. Gaara held her wrist up, and Naruto beamed at the audience they had. Thunderous applause sounded.

With that, the duo were officially mated and married.

~:~

And with that ending, Naruto had to go. Back in his male form, he smiled and hugged Gaara.

"I'll be back before you know it," he promised with a smile. He was naturally affectionate, and Gaara respected that. Naruto smiled and moved on, hugging and shaking hands with as many people as he could before Tsunade coughed.

"Naruto, it's time."

Everyone glanced at Tsunade, and Naruto nodded, steely determination replacing all signs of happiness that he had previously portrayed.

He waved, and was gone. No poof of smoke, no sign that he had even left.

Just... Gone.


	60. 60

1 YEAR LATER

Pein had spent too much of his time _waiting._ Madara's eye burned into his.

"If you are tired of waiting to get the second-to-last jinchuuriki, then go get the Kyuubi," Madara told him, his false arm twitching marginally.

"Where should I strike?" Pein questioned, wondering if attacking Uzushio, what with it being extremely secretive and all, was a good idea. Especially also considering that he didn't even know who the leader was.

"Konoha. Raze Konoha to the ground." Madara's hissed response got quite a jerk from his false arm, but Madara simply grabbed it and squeezed in warning.

Pein nodded.

"I must go to a little arranging for Itachi to meet his ultimate demise. I need his eyes, after all." Madara stood and swept out of the cave, warping when he reached the sunlight.

The Uchiha was more dramatic than Pein could ever hope to be, really.

~:~

In Suna, Gaara was comforted by the telepathic link he had with Naruto; surprisingly it was with the multiple Narutos that had been created by the original. The original was training hard in all aspects of fighting with the frog summons and trying to store enough Senjutsu to live; yes, he'd found that out rather fast. To say he'd been upset was an understatement.

And then there was the stronger-than-ever alliance with both Uzushio and Konoha, and the hostile looks he kept getting from Hyuuga Neji every time Neji passed through (which thankfully wasn't often.)

He walked out, seeing Hyuuga Neji walk towards the dango stand with Uchiha Saki. Quickly, he ran over to them.

"Neji-san, Saki-chan, may I have a word with you two?" he asked them.

"'Course, Gaara-kun!" Saki said, hanging onto him, her jounin vest mashing between them awkwardly. "What, you want a threesome?"

Gaara heard Naruto sputter in the back of his mind when he asked her if she commonly participated in threesomes with Saki.

He took that as a 'no'.

"Sorry," he said lightly. "But no." He looked at the Hyuuga. "Are you in love with Naruto?" He was finally straight with the Hyuuga. No more glares of hostility, he _needed to know._

Neji sighed. "I think I am."

Saki grinned. "That's perfect!" Saki cried. "We can have a foursome!"

Neji facepalmed.

"Saki, we have to get back to Konoha," Neji informed the Uchiha girl.

The Uchiha groaned. "Hurry and get your dango then."

~:~

Tsunade glared at Pein. Or was it Yahiko?

"I am Pein," Pein intoned. "And I will bring peace to this land."

He raised his arms.

 _"Shinra Tensei."_

~:~

"I would suggest keeping your eyes a secret for now," Fukasaku said, after Naruto had sufficiently recovered. "How you got the Rinnegan eyes... It is unclear whether your genetics allow for such a mutation."

"It's possible," Naruto admitted. "I may only have the fraction of it left in me, especially since I sat in the throne, but I believe I have Uchiha genetics in me." The nearly sixteen-year-old teen glanced at him. "Not nearly enough to awaken the Sharingan, but I don't think I need it."

Ma appeared, looking alarmed. "Kosuke's going to summon us to Konoha! Someone just destroyed it!"

Naruto looked at the toad statue. Six clones sat around the base of it.

"I think I'm ready," Naruto nodded. He took a deep breath, nodding again. "I'm ready."

"Wear this." A haori with red flames on it - as well as green flames between the red ones - licked the bottom of the mainly black item of cloth.

Quickly, the toads were assembled in battle formation, and they appeared in Konoha.

Naruto eyed the crater. "Kosuke must have messed up. This _isn't_ Konoha."

He looked to Ma, who had shifted. Ma pointed speechlessly to the one item that was _definitely_ in Konoha.

Naruto's rage exploded.

The Hokage monument stood there, and above it, the backup hospital.

Not even the Kage Tower remained.

He glared up to where Pein floated, eyes red in rage.

"Pein!" he shouted, causing the man to drop down quickly to meet Naruto's eyes unflinchingly. "I'm going to kill you!"

He withdrew his trusty sword as four others came out of nowhere.

Naruto yelled and jumped off of Gamakichi, running along the dirt. He stopped, horror in his eyes, as he spotted Iruka-sensei hanging from one of their hands. Iruka-sensei coughed, and Naruto had had enough.

He took out a kunai with three prongs. He wasn't supposed to show this off, but it was mostly for show anyway.

He threw it at the main Pein, who dodged it with ease. Naruto grinned, and _pulled._ Iruka-sensei was in his arms as he skidded to a stop near Tsunade, who stared at him with shock.

Naruto smiled. "Rest up, old hag."

She looked at Pein, ignoring, for the moment, Naruto's remark. "He killed Jiraiya," she whispered, standing. "I'm not letting him get away with it."

Naruto forcefully shoved Tsunade back.

"Let me get this," Naruto insisted, his expression growing solemn. "I will get him. I promise." He placed his hand over his necklace, reminding Tsunade of his promise.

Then he turned and walked out to meet Pein.

~:~

Saki hurried over the ridge. Her eyes widened.

"Saki-san!" Neko of the ANBU appeared. "I think Naruto's in trouble!"

Saki grinned. "Oi, Neji. Want to make our entrance?"

Byakugan no Neji and Mangekyou no Saki went into the crater.

~:~

Naruto's blade locked with the chakra receivers that the Pein had. Naruto's sand twisted and took out another one of the Peins, and Naruto slipped underneath the Pein he was fighting and took a cheap shot.

The Pein definitely felt _that._

Naruto's 'danger!' sense tingled, and he turned. Too late to raise his sword, he could only watch as the Pein rand through some handsigns that he couldn't follow. Right as he went to call out the jutsu as he finished the handsigns -

-a giant green sword smashed him into nothing but a pool of bones, blood and everything else that made up a human.

Looking to the right, Naruto saw Saki grinning crazily. She'd definitely changed from the young, childish teen he'd known before.

"I never knew it would do that," she said, looking at her green sword. "Neji!"

Neji's eyes changed, becoming the Byakugan. The air got very chilly.

Mirrors appeared around the Peins.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HAKU'S KEKKEI GENKAI?!" Naruto shrieked.

"I have bunny summons." Neji pinked. Naruto nodded.

"Cool! Now can we fight these guys?" Sakura asked, landing next to her.

"I came as soon as I heard." Speak of the devil. Haku stepped up in his hunter uniform, including a Konoha neko mask. "Which wasn't long. Besides, I was already on my way." He took out some senbon. "Focus on the main guy, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, twisting his sword in a circle. Then, preparing to jump, a green hand scooped him up, and Naruto was flung directly at the most important Pein.

With a yell, the two clashed again.

~:~

It was like watching two titans fight. After the other four were taken out (quickly, thanks to Saki's time manipulation ability) everyone turned to watch Naruto's sword blaze as he fought Pein.

Pein kept blasting him away, but he used his mastery of illusion to hide where he really was. So, it was really just a bunch of clones fighting him.

Until chains wrapped around him, and an illusion vanished to see Naruto sitting there, in complete concentration. He was binding Pein, and it was clear by the unnatural shimmer of the chains that it was happening as they watched.

"Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu: _Hoji chēn!"_ The chains glowed a brilliant green, then shattered into a million pieces.

"Your chains cannot hold me," the man intoned.

"Only because you are not alive," Naruto growled, standing up, then smirking. "But the seals of an Uzumaki go to an Uzumaki. Hello, _Nagato."_

The Pein jerked back in surprise.

"I am Monarch. As your Monarch, I demand you to leave the ones that are in this village alone," he said haughtily. Around his head, a blank silver crown manifested. "They did nothing to earn your ire."

Almost at once, the man's posture was defeated. "So the rumors are true," he rumbled.

"Yeah, guess they are," Naruto replied. "But I'm not here to chat. I temporarily sealed your chakra, and I want to know why you're doing this."

"For peace," the Pein said. "This world will never know peace until I show them the pain of this world."

"That's bull," Naruto said, his eyes flashing. "You completely obliterated my village and killed my grandfather before that. You call that ' _peace'_?"

"It matters not what I call peace," he replied, raising his hand. " _Shinra Tensei!"_

The spectators tensed, but it was repelled by an unseen force.

Naruto grinned at the suddenly wide eyes of his opponent.

"Yep, that's right. Saki, your right eye. Use it on me. NOW!"

Saki did as ordered, and instantly her third eye burned as it gained the extra abilities.

"Now you and I can fight on equal terms," Naruto announced, to the confusion of some. Saki laughed.

"Not quite," she said, jumping and reaching their spot. "On _uneven_ terms... Considering I'm fucking _awesome_ and I have a Rinnegan eye." She tore her bandages off and closed her normal eyes. "Neji, care to guard my back?"

"Of course." Not that he needed to, seeing as all the other Pein bodies were dead. Still, knowing that her back was covered gave Saki a bit of happiness.

"Enough of this game!" Pein snarled, raising his hand again. "Shinra Tensei!"

"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto called, startling many as the two jutsu collided, creating a shockwave. Saki was going over the jutsu and discarding the 'Almighty Push (or Shinra Tensei)' because it ate up way too much chakra, the Samsara of Heavenly Life (or Rinne Tensei, which basically used all your chakra and killed you in exchange for a ton of other lives) because it also used too much chakra.

"Bansho Ten'nin!" Saki's hand summoned the Pein to her.

"Saki don't kill him!" Saki felt something white hot striking her original eyes, and she realized it was simply the pain as she cried out and doubled over.

Another mistake. A blow hit her back, and Saki collapsed on the ground.

She was going to get up, but something pierced her stomach, just below her heart.

 _"Saki!"_


	61. 61

Pein smirked, satisfied. He still had his powers to create the chakra rods, and if he could just drag this out until the Saki girl died or the Uzumaki boy lost control, then he could win this.

The Saki girl was clinging to life, certainly.

"How can you call this peace?" the Hyuuga boy inquired. "Death and suffering do not unite people."

"Oh, but then all of them share the same pain," Pein responded. "Death and suffering is the only way to create peace!"

"You're wrong," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki whispered. "YOU'RE _WRONG!"_

"Am I?" asked Pein. "Amegakure has been the battleground for too many wars. I am simply taking back what's mine." He resonated his chakra through the Uchiha girl, who cried out.

"Leave her alone," the Hyuuga snarled.

"I knew you loved me, Neji!" the Uchiha girl choked out.

Naruto sighed. "Pein, please. Let me speak to the real you."

"Give up," Pein said, annoyed. "Bansho Ten'nin!"

The Uchiha flew towards him, powerless.

He made sure to hit the heart.

Naruto screamed. " _NO!"_

 _You will know pain,_ Pein thought with sick satisfaction. Pein dropped the Uchiha's lifeless body onto the ground.

"My master... My sensei... My mother... My friend... My village!" Naruto looked like he'd just been put through a blender of pain, and Pein fought his Uzumaki heritage to just _stop fighting the Monarch._

He decided to kill the Hyuuga next, but instead Naruto broke the chakra rod, glaring at him.

Eyes filled with anguish and _utter suffering_ met his. He flinched backwards.

"You want pain?" Naruto asked, glaring at him. But there was no malice in his eyes. In one hand spun a single ball of violently rotating chakra. "I'll give you some right here! For Saki! _Rasengan!"_

Naruto shoved that ball of chakra into Pein's stomach, and the real one in a tree far away opened his eyes and gasped.

Knowing that she was coming, he got ready. Steeling himself.

~:~

Naruto didn't allow himself to grieve as he ran to where Pein was.

The real Pein.

He had no idea how to convince this Pein that what he was doing was _wrong._

He stopped at the paper tree. Taking a fortifying breath, he went to step in when his mother suddenly spoke to him.

 _Naruto, don't act aggressively._

He nodded to himself and walked in.

Pein and a woman Naruto didn't know were in the darkest part of the tree, and Naruto took a deep breath.

"Pein, I have no doubt you know what pain is. Losing family members, losing everyone you care about." Naruto clenched his fist. "I'm not asking you to change your beliefs in the matter of seconds. I'm wondering if you know my story as well as you think you do."

"Your twin -"

"There is no twin," Naruto revealed. He wanted to smirk, to yell. But his mother had said not to. "I'm Naruto, the only Naruto. There was never a twin. Itachi couldn't have known about the twin because the twin was merely a fabrication. A fabrication to make you seem powerful." He took a steady breath. "There is no such thing as 'eternal peace'. But I believe that even a _temporary_ piece is good enough for people to come together and understand each other, bringing a longer-lasting peace than before." He stopped and swallowed. "Do you want to know something, Pein?"

"What?" Pein asked suspiciously.

"It's funny, really." Naruto chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm fighting you to stay alive when I'm dying." He had their full attention now. "Since I have too much Yang energy, I'm dying. I want to make a difference in this world before I die - a good difference. Honestly, if I die tomorrow or I die today right here, I want to make a difference in this world. Pein, you can make that same difference. The difference our sensei believed in." Naruto held out his hand. "I lied to protect myself. No more. You want the Kyuubi? You can have it. There's a tiny problem, though." Naruto sighed. "The other half's inside the Shinigami, and you kinda need both halves to destroy the world."

Pein stared at him.

"Why would you do this? I destroyed your village, and now you give up?"

"I don't give up," Naruto replied shortly. "Either way you look at it, you're _fucked._ You can't destroy the world without both halves, and you'll die extracting it from me." Naruto smiled at him sadly. "Because you want the Kyuubi, you'll have to unseal the Shiki Fuujin on my stomach. The Akatsuki members will die, and there will be _no mercy_ on them. So." Naruto kept his hand steady. "You want to live, and make this world better? Take my hand. You want to kill me and die in the process? Tell your girlfriend to knock me out. You will destroy this world by doing so."

His ringing speech seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Pein simply stared at him. For a long time.

"Not to break up your thinking progress," Naruto finally broke in. "But my arm is getting kind of tired, so I would appreciate an answer."

"Uzumaki... Naruto." He sounded suddenly exhausted. "I see that you have a valid point. There would not be much use in extracting your bijuu and leaving us dead. That would be counterproductive." He paused and looked at the ceiling. "I think I'll believe in your peace, Naruto."

Naruto wondered what he was doing when he took his hands out of his machine thing and started doing handsigns.

"That will kill you, Nagato!" his girlfriend said, looking horrified.

"I believe... That she can do what we could not. Uzumaki-sama..."

"I..." Naruto wished he could say he was at peace. "I am angry at you," he admitted. "But I believe what you do is your choice." Nagato blinked at Naruto. "I believe in the choice to choose what path you take."

Nagato nodded, and finished his handsigns.

"Then... I suppose you have nothing to lose by lying to me. But I believe in your words, like I have believed in none before." Nagato closed his eyes. "Uzumaki-sama, I will believe in you. _Rinne Tensei."_

Nagato's hair went white, and the man formerly known as Pein gave his life to bring back others.

~:~

Konan gave Naruto a bunch of flowers made of paper. She couldn't bring Jiraiya back to life, that much was clear. But she could give Naruto a small peace of mind.

Nagato would rest easier.

"Thank you," Konan said. Those were the only two words she spoke to Uzumaki Naruto, and then she burst into paper, bringing the two bodies wrapped in paper with her, intent on returning home.

She had a man with a cursed heart to help, after all.


	62. 62

Saki opened her Rinne eye and noticed the bandage on her other eyes.

"So what happened?" she asked the nurse she didn't know. "Am I going to die?"

"You were already dead," Naruto's voice floated over to her. Saki turned and gazed at him.

"Such a vision of hotness I could never imagine."

Naruto didn't even crack a smile.

"Even when you're half dead you're cracking love jokes," he said, sitting forward in his chair. "Saki, you scared me. You were -"

Naruto cut himself off and put his head in his hands. Saki was worried. Naruto _never_ looked this exhausted.

"How much chakra did you use?" Saki demanded.

Naruto looked at her, eyes bloodshot. "A lot. I nearly passed out when I got back to Konoha. Kakashi was there to catch me." Saki noticed the joy in that statement. But she focused on the other part of her friend's statement. "You used too much chakra - what - how -" Saki didn't want to ask. But she needed to know.

"Two years, even with Sage mode." Naruto twisted his hands. "And I got a report from myself on Uzu. Rebuilding is going well."

Saki took a deep breath. "What will you do?" she asked, ignoring his subject change.

Naruto shrugged. "I'm going after Sasuke, visiting Gaara... I don't know." Naruto sighed. Then he frowned. "Saki, your eyes... I can give them back to you."

Saki blinked. "I don't care about my damn _eyes!"_ Saki yelled, startling the nurse. "I care about _you!_ I care that you're _dying,_ and I don't want you to die!"

"It's natural, Saki." Naruto's voice was muffled. "Let's just ignore that. I mentioned your eyes because I'll need your help - yours and Neji's - to get Sasuke back. He's killed Orochimaru, but I still think I need your help."

Saki closed her eye.

"Naruto..." She wanted to yell and scream at Naruto, to rage against the unfairness of the fact her friend was dying. But she simply sniffed and nodded. "Alright, fine. What needs to be done?"

~:~

Team Kakashi - made up of Haruno Sakura, Sai, Uchiha Saki, Hyuuga Neji, Hatake Kakashi, some jounin named Yamato, and Uzumaki Naruto, all made a rather odd sight as they hopped from branch to branch. All three of Saki's eyes were bandaged, the only way Saki knowing which direction they were going was through her chakra strings. Saki had been advised to not use her eyes for a while.

Neji's face was unusually grim. His forehead was bared to the world, his hitai-ate tied onto his arm, tight, but not so tight as to cut off circulation. Since most ninja who knew the history of the Clan Wars knew that the Hyuuga and Uchiha were usually at each others' throats most of the time, it was obviously very odd to see them in a team together.

Then there was Sai, who was blank-faced, his dark eyes giving nothing away. He was a mystery.

So was Yamato, but he was a bit more friendly than Sai, if a bit more reserved around Naruto than he probably should've been. He was a rare wielder of the Mokuton element.

Sakura, too, had changed. She'd grown her hair out a little bit, and it was in a ponytail right then, but tossed up so messily it was plain that it was an afterthought.

Kakashi looked the same as he usually did, if a lot more focused this time. His own Mangekyou Sharingan had been turned into an Eternal one thanks to Obito, but it still was a close thing; he'd practiced with it multiple times, and while it wasn't _as_ draining, it was still quite draining.

All six formed a circle around Naruto, who somehow managed to look like Sai a bit. He was pale and sickly-looking, but it was honestly just the aftereffects of getting out of Sage Mode and not having eaten anything or had had a drink afterwards.

That, and he was so obviously dying - that made his teammates edge around him.

It started to rain. Naruto stopped, clapping his hands together and entering Sync mode. It was the magical point, as Yamato's jaw dropped as he read _life_ from Naruto's Sync cloak.

"That way," Naruto said after a moment, opening his eyes and staring in another direction.

As they started off, Naruto coughed. Only Sai, Saki, and Neji paused. Kakashi faltered, but Naruto waved the others to go on as he coughed horribly. Saki and Neji followed Kakashi's lead.

When he took his hand off of his mouth, red blood glistened on his palm, the proof of his time running out.

He wiped it on a tree, and only Sai spotted it.

~:~

Sasuke was trapped. Trapped, no place to run or hide. He stared at the man approaching him, looking far more sick than he had thought once.

His brother. Who wasn't aiming to kill, because Sasuke could see his Susano'o fading out.

And then a green hand came and grabbed Sasuke and Itachi; a green hand he knew well.

His cousin stood there, interfering.

Along with Konoha shinobi. And _Naruto._

"You!" His own eyes spun, and Naruto flinched.

He felt chakra returning to him. (Perhaps he could leech chakra off of people?)

 _No,_ he realized. _Saki is giving me chakra._

Saki looked beyond torn. Like she wanted to stop him, but was also giving him a chance.

"Sakura, heal Itachi." Naruto walked up to Sasuke. "It's time for us to end this."

His eyes met Sasuke's, and Sasuke was quite taken aback at how dull they seemed. He compared it to the idiot he'd known, but those eyes didn't match.

And how he'd known it was Naruto... Well, Karin's description of him was clear.

With that observation, Sasuke withdrew his Kusanagi, the sword taken from Orochimaru's corpse.

Naruto set down a gourd filled with sand, and withdrew a blood red blade.

Together, they faced each other as Saki guarded everyone else.

~:~

 _"I can feel Itachi's chakra, Saki. What I'm going to ask you all to do is almost crazy." Naruto's words caught their attention._

 _"What do you need us to do?" Kakashi questioned his daughter figure._

 _"I need Sakura to heal Itachi. No, shut up," Naruto said harshly to the Konoha ninja. Well, except Saki, who swallowed. "Saki, explain it to them when we're on our way back. I want you to catch Sasuke unawares, which means I'm going to have to fight him. Saki, I'm warning you, don't say a damn word," Naruto snarled at the Uchiha, who had opened her mouth. "Explain_ everything _to them."_

 _"What about you?" Sakura asked._

 _Naruto produced a scroll. It wasn't that large._

 _"Kakashi, if you would summon Kikiya as soon as Sasuke and I are fighting, I would love her help." He tossed Kakashi the scroll._

 _"Don't you have to summon him or her?" Kakashi asked seriously._

 _"Eh, either way. She'll come, be pissed, but help in the end. Tell her plan M."_

 _"What's plan M?" Yamato asked._

 _Naruto turned blazing aqua eyes onto him. "You die in plan M," He replied. At Yamato's wide eyes, Kakashi sighed and informed Yamato that Naruto was simply trying to lighten his spirits, and that he probably did not mean that Yamato was actually most probably not going to die._

 _"He won't. Kikiya knows M is my last-resort plan."_

 _"And you're using it?"_

 _"I've got to." Naruto jumped ahead of them._

~:~

It was like a dance. Naruto slashed, Sasuke blocked and parried. Naruto blocked his parry and slashed again, jumping back as his sword nearly grazed her skin.

Kakashi didn't watch their dance as they started using jutsus to try to keep each other on their toes; instead, he opened the scroll and went through handsigns and summoned a redheaded beauty. She was barely dressed; furs did little to cover her.

"I am Kikiya," the kitsune said with a feral grin. "Can I kill you?"

"She said to do Plan M," Kakashi informed her quickly, pointing to Naruto.

Kikiya glanced towards the two former friends.

 _"Ōkami spawn!"_ She spat it out like a curse.

"Oi!" Kakashi growled. "I happen to be a long distant relative of the Ōkami!"

"Explains the stench," Kikiya said calmly, despite the fact she'd just been slightly panicked. "Wolf demon scum irritates my nose. It's a wonder Naruto considers you part of her pack." She made the summoning handsigns, and slammed her hands on the ground. Similar kitsune appeared, all looking older than Kikiya. _"Meiyo aru chōrō_ (honored elders), I ask that you help me in our father's host's endeavor. Plan M: To seal them into this jar until we are able to release them. They will be fighting even then, and you know that both Naruto-sama and Sasuke- _kusoyarou_ (bastard [impolite]) are forces of nature. The jar will eventually break if we keep them too long in here." Kikiya took the jar off of her belt. Why she had one there was unknown.

"And Naruto-sama agreed with this?" one asked. She looked to be the oldest, and definitely human. Or had once been human.

Kikiya bowed her head in deference. " _Meiyo aru haha_ (honored mother), Naruto-sama was the one to think this up upon seeing the _Shīringujā_ (sealing jars) on the shelves. Those locked in eternal battle, still sealed upon our shelves, will eventually shatter them and be released into this world. What I am asking, _meiyo aru haha,_ is for your help in sealing them temporarily. If we wait much longer, they will kill each other," Kikiya said, glancing at the small battleground. "Sealing them would give them time to get over their differences."

The _Meiyo aru haha_ nodded. "Very well. I will help. Nori, Imaris, north, south. Kikiya will stay here and be the focal point. GO!"

Nori, one with a blue crescent marking on her forehead, bowed her head and vanished, in the direction of the North. Imaris, one with a single blue slash on his face, on the right side, nodded with a slight smirk on his face.

"I will go west. You will be the east."

Kikiya blinked, her red eyes widening. " _Meiyo aru haha?"_

"We begin!"

The _Meiyo aru haha_ vanished.

Kikiya sat down. Green fire sprouted up, turning a multitude of colors before settling on a deep indigo. It flowed around her for a few minutes, then shot off into two directions, north and south. Kakashi blinked as he saw more indigo fire wrapping around Naruto and Sasuke. Then, Kikiya opened the jar she held.

Sasuke and Naruto, still wreathed in flames, entered the jar.

"Done," Kikiya gasped. The three _meiyo aru chōrō_ of the kitsune clan appeared, the _meiyo aru haha_ bowing her head at Kikiya before disappearing in three pillars of green flames. "So... That was unexpected," Kikiya said, still looking awed.

"Did I just see the _meiyo aru chōrō?"_ Saki asked, also looking stunned.

Kikiya smirked at her. "So you've heard of them?"

"Of course!" Saki said with a grin. "The dragons educated me on the Five Great Summon clans; the Kitsune of the North, the Ōkami of the South, the Inu in the West, and the Neko in the East, and, of course, the Ryuu in the center, being the governing body, basically."

Kikya nodded. "You have learned well. However, the _meiyo aru chōrō_ consist of the Great Four: Father - the Kyuubi, father of our clan; Mother, his lovely mate who was once human; Elder Brother Imaris, the oldest brother; and Sister Nori, the oldest sister. I am the youngest of my clan." Kikiya scowled at that. "Enough about my clan; we must get Sasuke- _kusoyarou_ and Naruto-sama to your village. Each second in the jar is a second we cannot waste."

Everyone nodded, even Sakura, who flinched away from the giant that formed around Saki and tenderly - lovingly, in fact - picked up Itachi.

"Let's go," Saki said, ignoring the blood coming from her eyes. All of them started jumping, even Saki, who had less chakra than Sakura left. Even so, she persevered.


	63. 63

**I have to admit that this unexpectedly turned into a slight Inuyasha Xover. It's not listed as an xover because only elements and like five, maybe six, characters (at MOST) are in it.**

~:~

"What was Naruto talking about when she said to 'explain it' to us? What's _it?_ " Sakura finally got the nerve to ask in the presence of kitsune woman.

Saki glanced at Itachi. "Itachi spared Sasuke out of brotherly love. That, and Shimura Danzou made him a deal. It was either 'everyone dies except Sasuke and you become a missing-nin', or 'we all wait for the coup d'état and all the Uchiha including Sasuke _and_ you die'. Itachi had help with that, possibly from Obito." Saki's eyes dimmed for a moment, thinking of her own mother and hoping against hope that her mother had been out of town... Or _something_ that night. Saki hadn't been able to burn their bodies because of her banishment from the clan, hadn't been able to _see_ their bodies to see if her own mother was there or not. It was a fragile hope that she had clung to all these years, and yet it was one of the more selfish ones.

"And I think he only spared me because... Well, technically, I am not an Uchiha." Kakashi glanced at her curiously out of the corner of his eye. "I was banished from my clan because of an _incident_ with my Sharingan."

Saki's little _incident_ had caused a lot of strife within Saki's clan, and in Saki's own heart. The head had made the choice to allow Saki two choices: Die on a mission outside Konoha (this could have led to her becoming a missing-nin and stealing Naruto away to live happily ever after _outside_ Konoha, but she wasn't selfish enough to stop her precious little friend from making her own choices), or go to the Sandaime and request out-of-sight work. Saki initially lied to everyone and said it was her work with the Intel department that led to her banishment, but the time for lying to her comrades was over.

Saki kept Itachi close to her as they ran.

~:~

Sasuke panted. "What - the hell - is going _on?!"_

Naruto panted opposite him.

"Kitsune sealing technique," he said in a breathless voice. He'd died 44 times; Sasuke 45. It was an instant reset. He sat up, moving to a rock. The background, picked out of their memories, was the Valley of the End, the most historic area in ninja history; either in ninja or just in Konoha's, it didn't matter. It was historic and beautiful and currently reduced to rubble.

Luckily it wasn't the _actual_ Valley of the End. If it had been, Tsunade probably have killed them both, monarch and last Uchiha aside. It was the one thing that reminded people what had happened there, and a _historic monument._ It was akin to destroying the Hokage monument.

"We have to wait for a while," Naruto said, perching on a rock and shifting into his female form. "Until Kikiya deigns to release us. We'll have a reset soon enough."

True to her words, they reset, standing across from each other. Sasuke sighed, but powered up a Chidori.

The duo flew at each other with zero intent to kill. Now it was just a competition with each other.

~:~

Kikiya stopped and set the jar down in a small indent in the ground, just a few minutes from the gates of Konoha.

"The chakra of humans will interfere negatively with the sealing power," Kikiya told them. "We will come back after we have spoken with your Kage."

Sai coughed as Kakashi looked uncomfortable at the mention of the gates.

"Kikiya-san, it would probably be best if you looked less like a kitsune and more like a human."

Kikiya nodded. "You're correct."

Blue fire whirled around the kitsune, and when it vanished, she looked like any random ninja that carried no weapons. What seemed to be the kitsune emblem - three slash marks and the outline of fire - was on her right shoulder.

"Nothing alive can see the jar," she said, striding away confidently. "Only kitsune can."

"I can see it," Sakura whispered.

A burst of green fire left Kikiya's hand. Kikiya started forward again, head held up with a tinge of pink in her face.

~:~

Sasori had had one of his living ninja puppets follow them ever since he'd had to flee. Since his living puppet could turn into any animal, it wasn't that shocking that nobody could tell. That, and the incredible amount of patience Sasori had used waiting for some _useful_ information; one year and frustratingly little evidence. Enough to see Pein had died and Konan wasn't acting on anyone's orders but her own; it was frustrating.

He ordered it to grab the jar, and the animal-shifting ninja shifted into an eagle, snatching it up.

Yes, his plans were coming along nicely.

~:~

The jar was missing. Kikiya started to visibly panic; Neji, sent out to retrieve the jar with her, sighed and activated his Byakugan.

Nothing seemed to be amiss; Neji couldn't see chakra trails like Saki could, but he could probably see other things.

He turned on his Byakugan. Frowning, he used his new bloodline, the Hyoton bloodline, given to him by his bunny summons not too long ago.

Frost covered the ground, showing an imprint of where the jar had been previously; but nothing to suggest _where_ it had gone.

" _Shimatta!"_ Kikiya yelled, blue fire exploding from her. She calmed down, closing her eyes. She placed her hands together. "Neji-san, please watch the fire with your Byakugan." Red fire exploded from the kitsune; it burned a trail in Neji's eyes.

"We're going to have to go up to the treetops," Neji said.

"Or I could just transform us into birds and follow from there," Kikiya replied, pressing her lips together in anger. At Neji's stare, Kikiya shrugged, lifting an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, looking a bit miffed. "Kitsune magic. Naruto doesn't do it because it's very painful. She's a wuss."

Neji had senbon needles out in an instant, and he pointed them at her threateningly.

"Call her a coward again," he threatened her. Kikiya looked taken aback. He turned to Kotetsu. "Go tell Tsunade we're tracking the missing jar." Then he turned to Kikiya. "What will happen if the jar breaks? Or they're unsealed?"

Kikiya shook her head. "The jar only breaks if Naruto uses her bijuus' power to create a bijuudama. It cracks every time one of them makes a decision against what they normally make. Naruto is an unpredictable fool, so the jar will not break because of her; the jar reads and anticipates the moves the users will make but is _not_ a perfect 'future teller'. Ergo, the jar reads Naruto's intents and Sasuke's intents and creates a background that is suitable to their needs. Also, it can be opened by anyone; the problem is they're not stuck in there forever. Also, that includes the _others occupying the jar!"_

Neji paled. "What if they get out?"

Kikiya looked ill. "Let's just say that we usually only seal those with marital problems in our clan in those jars." At his confused look, she sighed. "Before chakra on this earth, the demon clans nearly went extinct. The kitsune clan was eventually revived, but the fact is most kitsune demons are Alphas - don't ask, you _really_ don't need to know - and one fight nearly made us extinct again." Kikiya shuddered. "Now let's shut up and take to the skies. Lesson one about being a bird: You have to be on a branch."

Neji hopped on the branch. One minute he was a human, the next was a second of utter agony that seemed to last a second; his bones cracked and snapped and shrunk.

But he forgot all about that. He was flying in the air, his Byakugan eyes showing him the fire trail.

~:~

Naruto's background flickered. Naruto and Sasuke stopped fighting.

"This isn't good," Naruto said, eyes widening.

"What isn't good?" Sasuke demanded almost fearfully.

"The background flickering. Meaning someone other than a member of the Kitsune clan picked up the jar."

"Kitsune clan?" Sasuke asked, puzzled.

"Demons from the summon world," Naruto clarified. As it that was helpful.

" _Demons?!"_

"Get with the program, Sasuke! Yes, _demons!_ Plural! Meaning of, 'generally not a very welcoming other species that once lived in our world but chose to go into hiding when they were on the edge of extinction'!" Naruto glared at him. "The Summon realm has a hierarchy. I just happened to get near the top _and_ the bottom. If our background is blinking out, we're -"

Their background faded into a field of rice patties.

"-going to shift into something else and become a part of whoever else is in this jar's background," Naruto finished in a tiny whisper.

"You mean there are _others_ in this jar?!"

"No," Naruto said sarcastically. "The jar cracks because of _us._ No _shit,_ Sasuke! It'd be a _waste_ if they didn't put others in jars. Twelve pairs in a jar; twenty can fit comfortably, but it would take too much power. Whoever has us best be ready for a fight. Well." Naruto was nervous. Sasuke didn't like it.

"What?" Sasuke asked, dreading the response.

"Unless whoever's in this jar kills us first."

"Oh." Sasuke looked around. No landmarks he could recognize. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sasuke, this is... This isn't just a reset. It's like the demon here requested a whole -" She stopped right there. "Sasuke, remember that mission we went on, before you up and left Team Seven?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. But then the hair rose up on the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah. That runner mission with that interrogation guy's younger brother?"

"Not that mission, but it'll do. Yeah. Let's recreate that mission." Naruto held out her hand, and Sasuke grabbed it.

The duo relaxed for a second...

...and then ran into the fields of rice patties.

~:~

Sasori took the jar and sent the living puppet to the room he had the other in. The only downside to having living puppets was that they needed to eat, sleep, and personal hygiene; unlike his other puppets.

He had never heard of this particular sealing jutsu, and the lid was sealed on particularly tight.

He summoned another living puppet, this one a Hyoton user. Her blank eyes surveyed the room and took the jar from his hands. When she was back in her room, she would set to opening the jar and getting what he wanted.

He moved into another room, and everyone looked up at him. Kisame glared at him.

"I have the Kyuubi in my grasp," Sasori rasped. "As soon as I am done, you may have the Kyuubi."

Kisame ignored him; Hidan didn't.

"Where is the fucking Kyuubi, huh?"

"I said I'd give her to you when I was done," Sasori said icily to him, before leaving the room.


	64. 64

Yuki Natsu opened the jar carefully. She found herself being sucked in; this job had its hazards.

Okay, not _job._ As if this was a 'job'. It was her imprisonment. She could think and do what she wanted in her room; but when Sasori activated the chakra strings through a seal, she found herself watching behind helpless eyes as she attacked people. She hated this.

Over a decade of this; ever since she almost died by her husband.

She did not know of her son, Haku's, fate; she could only hope that Haku had been spared.

She landed in a rice field, and was promptly grabbed, inspected by coal-black eyes, and yanked along.

"I think she's human!" the teen yelled as they ran.

"Good! Let's hurry before they catch up!"

"Naruto, you never said what this place was _exactly!"_ The teen glanced at Natsu. "Hurry up, lady, or I'll leave you behind!"

Natsu glanced back for a moment. She froze for a second, then started running under her own power, in between the redhead and the boy.

Behind them was a flying, red-eyed dog. Natsu had known of demons; she had been brought up on legends of an ice princess in many forms.

The one in front stopped and turned. Summoning green fire to her hands, she slammed her hands down and it flooded the ground, going _through_ Natsu's legs and giving her a warm feeling. Natsu was never allowed fires in her room; if Sasori had to call her, then it might catch the base on fire. Sasori _did_ provide his living puppets with rooms; but since there were very few rooms, he usually switched between them every few months to lower the cost of living. Some ninja, like Natsu, needed specific environments to live in.

Natsu turned to see the dog demon transforming into a handsome man with a moon on his forehead and markings on his cheeks, similar to the girl who had used the green fire.

"Come," the redhead said, opening her eyes and looking at Natsu. Natsu saw the shock and utter confusion in the redhead's eyes, but thought nothing of it as the teen girl looked to the teen male. "Come on, we have to move. I blocked our scent, but I can only do that so many times. I had to block their _noses_ and sight temporarily, but I replaced our scents with the air around them. They won't be able to track us. Let's go."

The three ran, this time steadier than the last, panic-y run. They reached a forest, where the duo seemed sure of themselves, yet not. They were from Konoha, then; that was the only place she could think of that these ninja knew trees with such intimacy. Konoha nin were far more adept at fighting in trees.

"You are Konoha ninja," Natsu stated when they had reached a clearing. Both ninja tensed and looked at her with 'deer in headlights' looks. Natsu chuckled a bit. "Forgive me; Konoha ninja, I have found, are far better in a tree-based fight than many other ninja. For you have many forests in your land."

"Er, no,we're not Konoha ninja," the redhead said with a chuckle. "We _were_ Konoha ninja. He deserted, I was banished because of his desertion." She held out her hand. "Uzumaki Naruto. This is Uchiha Sasuke."

Natsu felt a frission of dread.

"You both have bloodlines." Her voice was soft, but she was completely horrified. "Oh, no." This wasn't good! If Sasori had made her open it, it was clear one of these two were what Sasori wanted.

"What of it?" The Uchiha demanded, eyes glaring at Natsu.

"Sasori-sama likes to collect bloodlines. I fear he has made me come to you because he wants one, or both, of you," Natsu explained delicately. "Mostly almost dead bloodlines. Most bloodlines are only able to be used during the period of one being alive; my bloodline is one of them." Natsu gave a short laugh. "My apologies, I have not given you my name. I am Yuki Natsu."

Naruto's jaw dropped, the Uchiha's coal eyes widening. "Uh..." Naruto said, frowning a little, "you wouldn't happen to know a Yuki Haku, would you?"

Natsu's eyes widened. "My son lives?"

Naruto nodded. She glanced at Sasuke, who sighed.

"Let me guess. You want to kill Sasori, rescue everyone, and enlist the _demons we were running from_ to help you?" Sasuke asked with a sigh.

"Sasuke, you know me so well!" Naruto gushed. "The only thing is... I kinda need to become a living puppet, but I can't have Kyuubi extracted." Naruto nodded. "This should work. This particular dog demon sought to live in peace; most likely we just disturbed his pack. Now, if only we can make sure any..." She trailed off as howls filled the air. "Oh, man. Not _them."_

"Who?!"

"They're the wolf demons. My guess is that a loop for these two was set up in this jar; but, seeing as we're no longer in our loop, their loop was broken too. Which means this isn't just a peace-loving demon tribe that Kikiya taught me about; we're in the middle of a possibly brewing war. The wolf demons... Oh, _why did it have to be_ this _jar?!"_ The teen cried. "Kikiya told me wrong information! I don't know what to do!" The redhead sat down and seemed to sink into a depression, gloomy lines seeming to appear.

~:~

Imaris was cataloging the jars when he realized just which jar had been used. His usual stoic face on, he approached the Honored Mother and knelt at her throne. The mother had pretty much been _given_ to Kyuubi to satiate his anger; of course none of the wolf demons or dog demons knew this. All of them were blissfully ignorant. After she was 'given', she'd been changed into a kitsune and bound to the Kyuubi since, Imaris' father.

She had once been named Kagome, an ex-miko. Perhaps it was fate that Kagome had come to terms with her fate, for another kitsune, named Shippou, had appeared, begging for safe haven. Kagome had begged the Kyuubi for Shippou's life, and the Kyuubi had relented.

Kagome had lived for thousands of years and watched the Kyuubi get into hundreds of messes. No, not hundreds; thousands.

The Kyuubi was more powerful than the normal demons. The bijuu had seen the countless rises and falls of humanity; and this rise was the greatest, and yet the strangest for the demons to watch, and they were not patient beings of great destruction. The art of chakra had been lost countless times, and Kagome was kind of sad that it had finally come to this: the struggle for the bijuu.

All this Imaris knew.

"Mother," he said, his voice deep and measured.

"Yes, Imaris?" the former miko questioned, her dark eyes meeting his.

"Kikiya took Sesshomaru's and Kouga's jar. I triple-checked."

Kagome facepalmed.

"Imaris, go retrieve it. And please ask Sesshomaru not to show his face in _my_ territory if he gets out," Kagome said flatly.

"And what of -"

"Bring Naruto-sama here, along with any _guests_ she might have met in the jar."

Imaris bowed and vanished.

~:~

Kikiya felt terrible. Who would go through all this trouble to steal Naruto's jar?

A poof of bright green fire and Kikiya and Neji were being caught by Imaris. Kikiya whimpered as she felt Imaris' glare on her back.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't want her to get lost! I used the fire-tracker spell that Shippou taught me!"

She expected a hit from her older brother as he flew through the sky unaided.

"Sister, you are a fool," Imaris said at length, following the fire. "That was the wolves-and-dogs jar. Mother was very unhappy with them."

"I want Father back," Kikiya whimpered.


	65. 65

Naruto held up her hands.

"WE SURRENDUR!"

A very quiet pause.

Then, out came two people.

"So the kitsune have seen fit to release us?" questioned the one with wolf furs asked, a grin on his face.

Naruto was shaking. A little.

 **STOP MAKING ME LOOK PATHETIC, YOU LITTLE INSIGNIFICANT MORTAL!** Kurama roared.

Naruto gulped. "Um..." She straightened. "I am the holder of the great Kyuubi no Youko. Heed my words, or I will release him from within my body." To accentuate her point, red started bubbling to the surface of her body. "I respectfully ask that you honor the treaty made when you _agreed_ to let Kagome be his mate - or one of them - to appease him. If you deny me this, I will strike you all down."

The wolf sneered, then stroade forward. "I'll knock some sense -"

He stopped, sniffing.

"Why do you have my pack's scent on you?" he asked, glaring at Naruto.

"One of my fathers is the very _distant_ descendant of a wolf demon," Naruto replied. "Also, I'm taken," she added as a lecherous look came into his eyes. "Honestly, demons can be very much like humans in that regard. No respect for the ladies."

Sasuke pinched his nose. "I don't think that's helping, usuratonkachi!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT, SASUKE!" Naruto's tenuous hold on her rage towards him - something she'd _tried_ to keep from showing - boiled over to show in the legendary (to some) Uzumaki temper. "I have _tried_ to be civil to you! I was actually _nice,_ pretending that I was fine! But you - you called me _that!_ You're not the one who had to take demon history lessons, you're not the one having to deal with the management of an _island_ along with me _dying!_ You're the one I've _tried_ to help, but nooo! You just _have_ to be the smartest one! Well, knock it off, Sasuke! I'm the smartest one here because _I KNOW MORE THAN YOU ABOUT DEMONS!_ Stop _calling_ me 'usuratonkachi' and get that stick out of your ass _out_ because if you don't I will not _hesitate_ to rip out your entrails and use them to STRANGLE YOU! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Naruto, at this point, had seemed to become just like her mother. Her hair had risen up in nine ominous bunches, and her eyes glowed an angry red.

Sasuke stepped backwards. "Yes," he said in a barely heard voice.

Natsu looked impressed and slightly scared.

Naruto smiled, butterflies appearing around her. "Good. Now stay quiet."

She turned to see the demons in the clearing staring at her.

"It's almost like watching Kagome with Inuyasha," the dog demon murmured.

Naruto cleared her throat and walked over to them.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, human and jinchuuriki. I request your aide in helping me with one of my endeavors." Her voice was quiet, but authoritative. "I do not want the Kyuubi in me unsealed; this would end the world, the world I live in and the world you could live in again if you so desired it," Naruto went on. "I do not have the power to make it happen yet. Know that if I make it out of this alive, you are owed a favor from the Uzumaki Queen."

She bowed to them, showing no neck. She was showing that, as a human, she was inferior, but in respect to the Kyuubi, she was smarter than Sasuke and knew how to speak with them.

She lifted her head.

"Shall we adjourn to our cave?" the wolf asked.

"No," the dog demon scowled. "We will go to my castle."

They looked at Naruto.

"Whichever one has human comforts," she offered. "We are human, after all."

~"~

Sasuke stared in awe at the sprawling castle of the Inu no Akuma lord.

Naruto looked uncomfortable as they got looks of awe, confusion, and hate as Sesshomaru, as he told them his name was, led them through the grounds to his personal rooms. There stood a white-haired demon with golden eyes wearing a red robe sitting. He held a sword close to him.

"Inuyasha, please at least _pretend_ that you're more than a hanyou," Sesshomaru said, his crimson eyes flashing.

Naruto jumped in front of Sesshomaru, holding out her hand.

"You're a hanyou?! That's so cool! I guess you could say I'm one, being the container of the great Kyuubi no Youko!" Naruto said brightly, sticking her hand out.

Confused gold eyes met hers and he grasped her finger and moved it up and down.

"Okay, we're not here to chat," Sasuke interrupted.

"Sasuke, what did I say earlier?" Naruto asked, giving him an eerie, closed-eyes smile.

Sasuke swallowed and shut up.

"He is right, though. I came here to bargain," Naruto said, lifting her head up and facing Sesshomaru and Kouga. "I need someone dead in the real world, and in return, I can get you back to your territories in the realm they've moved to. Deal?"

Both demons glanced at each other.

"Why should we help you?" Kouga asked.

"Because you'll be stuck down here for eternity. Never leaving, never getting older, stuck in an endless, repetitive loop. I can almost guarantee you will never have to see me again if you do this," Naruto told him, smirking at them. "That's a bonus for everyone, really."

The demons glanced at each other and seemed to communicate wordlessly.

"Will you be my woman?" Kouga asked, leaning in close to her.

"No, I'm taken," Naruto smiled. "But if you want to get slaughtered by all my parental figures, one of which is scarier than the Kyuubi on off nights, one whose alternate personality is a terrorist bomber, one who is one of your very human and very distant descendants Kouga-san, and one who _is the Kyuubi,_ then by all means. Continue flirting with me." Naruto grinned, and her mouth seemed very full. "My mate is the Ichibi host, by the way." She wiggled her eyebrows.

There was a silence.

"So, about helping you," Inuyasha said, breaking the silence. "Who's the guy you need dead?"


	66. 66

Sasori summoned Natsu, who came out with his prize. His prize was fighting Natsu, but Natsu held on grimly.

"Put her on the table," Sasori ordered, flicking his scorpion tail at the table in the room. There were straps on the table. His prize threw Natsu down, but Natsu's bloodline froze her in her tracks.

"Good," Sasori said, smirking as Natsu froze his prize in place. The Monarch of the Uzumaki scowled as Sasori decided against making Natsu move her and wrapped his metal tail around her, yanking her up and setting her on the table. Restraints automatically slammed into place, rocks falling out of her pocket.

Sasori glared at Natsu. "Pick them up!" he snarled. His prize stared at him with wide eyes.

"Are you really going to turn me into a living puppet like that strange lady over there?" she finally asked. "I actually have somewhere to be shortly. Like that GoKage Summit. I was going to meet the Hachibi there." Her eyes widened and she shut her mouth with a click.

Sasori laughed sinisterly. "After tonight, you'll have no more thoughts like that," he said in his gravely voice.

~:~

Natsu, given no direction, slipped out of the room. Sasori was always... Into his puppets. Natsu had seen the conversion of ten living puppets; one had died. Boy had Sasori been angered, but he'd successfully integrated the ability into his latest, a puppet who had little to no true talent beyond his clan's Mind Transfer jutsu. Unfortunately, it remained untested.

Natsu knew how to hide; Sasori had taught them. Being living, they had to train. Most of the time, their target lost. Natsu could hide in plain sight just as she could, through hard training, turn things into ice.

She made her way into the shark man's room, stopping when she saw him reading.

Then she deliberately made a sound. When he sat up, her ice-cold hands were around his mouth.

"Itachi-sama is fine," Natsu hissed in his ear.

Kisame was familiar with Sasori's living puppets; all of the Akatsuki organization were. But Natsu knew he was not used to seeing them being used as little more than slaves, doing Sasori's bidding as he ordered them to.

Natsu slowly lifted her hand off of Kisame's mouth.

"I have little time," Natsu told him quietly. "The Kyuubi girl says that Itachi-sama is fine, and that Sasori-sama is most likely going to attack the Kage Summit with the Living Puppets. Some... Allies of hers are going to be killing Kakuzu-sama and Hidan-sama as well as they can." Natsu stood up and walked to the door.

"Why are you telling me this?" Kisame demanded.

"Because if there's one thing I believe in, is that there will be a reckoning coming," Natsu replied, a single hand on the door. "Whichever side you choose, Kisame-sama, know that it should be your heart's choice, and your heart's choice alone." Natsu's heart ached to be with her son, but in case Naruto succeeded in destroying Sasori and Natsu didn't make it... She wanted Haku to choose his own path.

She left the room, going to the shared living room of the Living Puppets.

There was not a single one of them who was there by choice, and Natsu addressed each of them while dropping the 'pebbles'.

"It's nearly time that we're free," she announced to them.

A pindrop silence was heard.

Half of them closed their eyes in relief, while the other half were still in shock.

After all, it was almost impossible to think that Yuki Natsu, the most pessimistic of all of Sasori's Living Puppet force, would say such a thing. She was the one who usually predicted that they were all going to die on more than one occasion.

But the half who were all relieved? They were tired of living, and finally, they had a hope that they could finally _die._

~:~

The six Kages and the neutral samurai, Mifune, all sat around a large table not a week after the jar fiasco. Tsunade smirked to herself as everyone pretty much minded their own business, signing papers and last minute items, when the Queen stood up.

Although the Queen wasn't part of _official_ proceedings, if she made a move against one of the other Kages it would be enough of an offense to take her down. Tsunade didn't tense when the young woman of a queen dropped into the chair next to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama. It is nice indeed to see you again," the Queen said, her brilliant aqua eyes meeting hers squarely. It was the only thing that stuck out as 'odd', her eyes. They occasionally turned more blue or more green depending on the light.

"How's your country?" Tsunade asked, smirking slightly.

The queen inclined her head. "Recovering swiftly. I am implementing an Academy for both civilians and ninja; not one class has yet fully graduated, but by the next year I do hope that more people will graduate with top of the class grades." She flicked open a fan. "I have also added a civilian school. The Daimyo of Nami no Kuni has asked for me to add it so that mainland students can go into it. I accepted thirty-seven students; they will be staying on school nights but allowed back on the mainland on weekends. The bridge is certainly a long one."

"Ah, I see." Tsunade smiled at her. "Might I ask some of the curriculum at the ninja Academy? It's not like Uzu and Konoha are not allies or anything."

"No, indeed not," Naruto replied, a graceful smile curving on her lips. Tsunade almost didn't believe that it was her granddaughter looking at her. "At the core, it's the Academy in Konoha; but rather than allowing more room for the civilians to grow lazy, we've added three more hours of mandatory training and cut the history into a single hour. History, while important, was the most boring class in my day. So much of it! We've decided not to run through the seven ages of mankind and stick with shinobi history."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, it's not like the last Seven Ages are actually _necessary_ to remember. It's just an easy 'A' for any student."

"I passed it and I couldn't even _read,"_ Naruto said dryly. At Tsunade's raised eyebrows, she corrected herself. "Well, the Sandaime said I passed, so there."

"He probably didn't want to hurt your feelings," Tsunade said, shaking her head and absently patting her shoulder. "Just like with that hideous jumpsuit I met you in. He really must have had terrible taste."

Naruto stared at her for a moment.

"I liked that jumpsuit," she said, pouting. "Iruka-sensei did too, right, Kaka-sensei?" She turned to the overhead area.

"No, he thought it was hideous, but he lied to spare your feelings," Kakashi replied truthfully.

Naruto slammed her head on the desk.

"My life is over!" she sniffled. "I love orange so much I asked my Uzukage to wear an improved version of the jumpsuit!"

Tsunade's eyes looked at the robe the Uzukage was wearing. With a start, she realized it was the male version of Naruto, and glanced at the Uzumaki Monarch with a raised brow.

"Oi, Natashi! Take off your robe!"

Everyone looked over at that and watched 'Natashi' take his robe off.

An orange and black jumpsuit covered him.

"Oh," Tsunade said, having no idea what else _to_ say.

"It looks great on him," Naruto said, lifting her chin up.

"Are you into self-cest?" Tsunade asked, snickering.

"NO!" Naruto yelped. "I only had to use the kinjutsu because... Because I was so overwhelmed! As Queen _and_ Uzukage, I'm in charge of _everything!_ For the first three months I was getting two _hours of sleep and no ramen breaks!"_

Naruto looked horrified by that idea.

"You know, your original seems to have grown out of that," Tsunade mentioned. "That or she's too busy to eat it."

"Probably too busy." Naruto paused for a moment, tapping her fingers. "So, I have a question. How long?"

Tsunade didn't change her face or give anything away, just like Naruto was doing.

"Nine months," Tsunade said.

Naruto flicked her fan up and hid her expression.

Tsunade suddenly realized something. She hugged Naruto before hiding one hand and summoning green chakra.

Tsunade flinched and withdrew.

Naruto's chakra - this blood clone of her - was about ready to die. Her chakra coils were straining, her entire body on the edge of giving up.

Naruto looked at her before looking down.

 _You knew,_ Tsunade thought, eyes widening. How? How had she known?

The door burst open, and the samurai Nimueh stood there, the only samurai to have her helmet off right then.

"Forgive me," the purple-haired kunoichi said, kneeling. "But there is a massive army descending upon us. And the Uzumaki Queen is leading the charge."

All eyes turned to said Queen.

"Eh, she must've gotten herself turned into a puppet," Naruto said, but she stood anyways. "Allow us to demonstrate our capabilities, Mifune-dono."

Mifune inclined his head.


	67. 67

Kisame glanced at the puppet Natsu. She was the one he had to cut free first.

The entire Living Puppet army darted through the snowy Tetsu no Kuni.

Sasori had taken the words of the Uzumaki girl to heart.

Speaking of, Sasori had promised Tobi and Black Zetsu that he'd bring the girl back. She seemed to be in declining health, as every step she took made pain light up in her eyes.

They were too quiet.

And, just as they appeared in front of the samurai, Kisame slowly - for him - edged behind Natsu, then slashed her seal.

Natsu screamed. None of the puppets looked at her as Natsu collapsed in the snow. Kisame helped her up, and Natsu shook her head.

"Now, I need your help," he grinned at Natsu. "Let's kill Sasori."

~:~

Naruto landed softly on the ground, her eyebrows shooting up to see none other than Hoshigaki Kisame fighting with an older Haku-look-alike.

Naruto darted in, saw what had been done to the look-alike's back, and knew. Cut the seal and the puppets were gone.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Hundreds of clones spammed, twenty of which popped immediately. Naruto collapsed, weakened.

But then Nia's voice echoed powerfully.

"Raiton: Kaminari pansā!" Obviously that's why she'd been in Kumo's prison.

Panthers appeared, aiding her bunshin, paralyzing them.

"Raiton: Rēzāsākasu!" Laser Circus was a jutsu taught to every Kumo ninja.

"Katon: Gokakkyu no Jutsu!" Ah, there she was. Seeing Kakashi's white face in the background, Naruto felt kind of happy she'd managed to surprise him. Behind her was none other than Uchiha Mikoto, and her red eyes indicated clearly that she had the Sharingan. Naruto knew now what Itachi had done to pretend that Mikoto was gone. Naruto didn't trust one of the other two Uchihas, and the other one had a family he needed to make sure was okay. That, and he was _really old._

Haku-look-alike reflected the jutsu using her mirrors.

"We're not trying to kill them," she scolded Mikoto. "Naruto, your counterpart is waiting for you."

Naruto looked, and there she was.

"Eh, I'm about to expire anyhow." Naruto glanced at Nia. "Tell Natashi he just got a promotion!"

Naruto walked over to her first self, getting close enough to see the blankness in her eyes.

This meant that Naruto's sword was also in her body. Both original and clone stood there - and just as the clone vanished, the original collapsed.

~:~

Natsu saw Sasori emerging from the trees and gave Kisame a letter with explicit instructions.

Natsu knew that, even though Naruto had stronger-than-steel bones now thanks to Sasori's Dust Release, that Naruto would have to get used to them fully before doing high levels of strenuous activity or fighting.

Natsu knew how to destroy Sasori, and she aimed for it. One of her newest abilities, her Ice Creeping.

Anything her ice touched, more ice covered the other objects.

And it infected _everything_ she wanted it to.

She slammed her hand through Sasori's Scorpion cover and froze it.

She sucked in a quick breath as she realized that Sasori's poison needles had gotten her.

But she smirked. She'd won, anyway.

Like the rest of the army of ex-Living Puppets, she collapsed.

~:~

Neji glared at Imaris and Kikiya. The jar had been recovered, but it was empty and both Imaris and Kikiya were debating on what to do.

"Guys," he said, trying to interrupt the quietly bickering siblings. The door opened, and Neji stared at the familiar person.

And promptly lunged at him to strangle him.

Sasuke choked, but used his eyes to freeze Neji and gain the upper hand. The two humans in the room tried to kill each other while the other demons in the room turned to watch.

"Why are you trying to -" Sasuke broke off. "Neji?!"

Neji scowled at him ferociously. He'd heard tales of Sasuke as a kid, and had heard that the Main House of the Uchiha was stuck-up; the only one Saki had determined to be a good person was in fact Itachi. Sasuke had grown up pampered while Saki had had to fight with other Uchiha to remain in good social standing until her banishment and her brother's confusing death.

Saki did _not_ believe that Itachi killed Shisui.

Neji had a feeling Saki was in love with Itachi, and had a feeling she was secretly in contact with him.

How else would he explain the anonymous letters during their missions? The secret meetings with random people?

Neji shoved Sasuke off of him and stood up, sneering.

"I _hate_ you," Neji snarled. "For what you did to the village." For all intents and purposes, Sasuke had broken the village. He'd seen it; the team that had left with Naruto had seen it. A lot of people Naruto had had friendly contact with had been short, cold, or just plain angry.

Neji never wanted to be in the same room as a pissed Iruka-sensei ever again.

But most of all, Naruto's goal had been to get Sasuke back on her own terms. Giving him back to the village on his hands and knees was something Neji was sorely tempted to do, but right now he had demons to deal with.

Feeling the temperature of the room drop suddenly, he turned to see four demons all enshrouded by demonic youkai.

"Can we please just get to where Naruto is, Kikiya-san?" Neji asked, breaking the tension in the room. Sasuke looked around.

"She must have pulled it off," Sasuke mused.

"What?" Neji asked suspiciously.

"Her plan to get turned into a Living Puppet and help the others with one of the Akatsukis' help," Sasuke replied with a smug smile.

Neji _dearly_ wanted to kill Sasuke.

~:~

Neji slipped into the window of the emergency facility the Living Puppets had been hastily put in to. A ton of Yamanaka, sporting the Konoha headband, were already here. Of course they'd been vetted properly, but Yamanaka Inoichi was personally overseeing Naruto's mind.

Most of the Yamanaka were clearly ready to leave, with a few exceptions: Inoichi, his daughter Ino, and another Yamanaka who was in the mind of someone else, a young woman who looked a lot like Haku. Neji stayed at the window, having come here the past three days.

"She's recovering well." Neji glanced at the woman guarding the window. Her voice was familiar. Then it struck him - it was Nimueh, the samurai who had watched over them last time. She looked pretty young for a samurai, maybe a year older than Neji. "I'm quite surprised, myself."

"I'm not." Neji's eyes fixed on Naruto's prone form. "After all, she does have the Kyuubi inside her." The message _you know because you told on us_ was pretty implied.

"It is still shocking to see such a thing," Nimueh replied. "When I spoke about how ninja ways were interesting, my superior decided to demote me. I shamed my family by speaking of the Kyuubi, and I apologize for my actions those few years ago."

Neji shrugged them off. "It does not matter any longer. Naruto has grown, as have I. The past is in the past. Now, however, you may tell your superiors that we ninja are worried." He wasn't lying, either. Before Naruto had come back, several bijuu had gone missing from their nations; and when Neji had overheard Asuma-sensei telling his students about the time the bijuu had been _sold_ to the other nations from the Shodai - he found the Shodai really dumb. As if the bijuu weren't sentient creatures.

He still recalled the day that girl had beaten him.

 _"Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji!" Gekkou Hayate announced to the stadium. There was a brief stir of confusion before Naruto and Neji appeared in the arena; murmurs of interest rumbled around the unknown Uzumaki and the quite known genius of the Hyuuga clan._

 _"GO, BAKA EYESORE!" A voice yelled from the crowd. A hit was heard._

 _"Shut up or I'll kill you!"_

 _Neji glanced at the orange-wearing kid. He was grinning, looking quite maniacal._

 _"I'm going to beat you here, -ttebayo!" Naruto announced._

 _Neji held zero interest in fighting him; it was clear to him which one would win. It was told that Uzumaki_ _Naruto was even worse than Lee at throwing kunai and shuriken._

 _"Fate has made her choice. I am destined to win," Neji said, not happy that he had to fight this loser and not the Uchiha. With all the hype and everything, he should have been the one to fight the Uchiha._

 _"If I had a sword, I'd cut you in half!" the boy snapped, riled up._

 _"If you could swing it right," Neji responded coldly, halfway turning._

 _"Begin!" Hayate-sensei called._

 _"Screw you, bastard! I can and will! I'll become Hokage, -ttebayo!"_

 _Neji sneered at him. "People are born destined to be something. I was destined to be a prodigy. The Hokage was destined to be the Hokage. And you were destined to become a no-name loser."_

 _Naruto glared at him. Then kunai sped out of nowhere, and Neji swiveled around in the classic_ Kaiten _of his clan that none but the Main household could use. Well, allowed, really._

 _"Why are you such an ass?" Naruto bellowed at him._

 _Neji looked down his nose. "As a member of the Branch family of the Hyuuga, I am destined to be a caged bird." At the boy's confused look, he undid his forehead protector and showed the green seal on his forehead. "I was marked with this seal. It causes unendurable agony in our minds and could eventually melt our brains."_

 _Naruto was quiet for a moment, and he could see... Sympathy in his eyes._

 _"Yeah, I kinda know what you mean," he said after a moment. There was a pause. "But that doesn't mean I won't beat you! I swore an oath on Hinata's blood." He summoned a thousand clones._

 _Neji shivered at that reminder, recalling how dark and angry Naruto had looked at that moment. She had glared at him, no words, and had raised her fist, covered with Hinata's blood, and had_ glared _at him with such chilling eyes it was scary._

 _But that was then, and this was now._

 _Neji darted forward, hitting his bunshins out of the way to get to him._

 _More clones appeared._

 _Fed up, the Hyuuga used his_ Kaiten _on his clones._

 _Naruto winced as Neji slammed into the real him, pushing as many tenketsu points as he could. Naruto collapsed, and Neji remained standing._

 _"Proctor, call the match," Neji arrogantly demanded._

 _"I can still fight," Naruto said, standing up and using the_ henge _jutsu to transform into a female; but as he did so, red chakra leeched out of Naruto, causing the jounin in charge of the match to stare with wide eyes. "You're not the only one with a seal on you," Naruto spat at Neji, her hair falling down her back in a ponytail. "Yours has got nothing on mine." The whisker marks on her face deepened, and her eyes flashed an eerie red. Wisps of red chakra leeched out again._

 _But then it faded, and Naruto offered him a smile, blood coming from the corner of her mouth._

 _Neji attacked her, unrelenting. This time, she stayed down; in the exact same spot as last time._

 _"Proctor, this is the last time I -"_

 _Naruto burst from the ground, slamming a fist into Neji's chin so hard he went flying, slamming against the wall. Dazed, he lay there, unable to move._

 _"I told you I would win," Naruto said calmly to him._

Neji had found, not that much later, that he'd had a crush on Naruto. It wasn't a big deal to him, he just accepted that it was a part of his life. He'd accepted it, moved on - but now, seeing her laying like this, he wondered if he should burden her with that knowledge.

He wanted to tell her like he'd accidentally told Saki on one of their many missions together. Just a slip of the tongue.

Saki and him had understood each other; he knew a fair few of her secret, and she knew a fair few of his. Not that either of them had many, really. It was just the two of them had been paired together for many missions, and Neji had a feeling it wasn't an accident.

Saki and him weren't as close as she and Naruto were, but they were at least friends that would watch each other's backs. Neji closed his eyes and leaned against the window edge, wondering what would happen now.


	68. 68

"I believe that the Akatsuki are dangerous," Natashi said firmly, standing in his seat. "There are a few I would pardon - Kisame-san, who is here, and Itachi-san, who is in Konoha right now. Itachi-san was never a murderer; he was trying to stop something that the Nidaime Hokage started. Itachi-san succeeded. As for Kisame-san, he was blackmailed into doing so." Kisame nodded. "We already know who the so-called 'Madara' is, but we prefer he doesn't die. As representative of Uzushio, I must speak for my Monarch when I say that Uchiha Obito _doesn't know what he's doing._ " Natashi took a deep breath. "I implore you, Kages, don't let another victim suffer."

Tsunade stood. "I vote that we let the accused speak."

"Seconded," Gaara said without standing or opening his eyes.

"Thirded," Natashi said, only to get a stare from Mifune for his apparent lack of knowledge about words. Mifune nodded, anyway, and gestured for Kisame to speak.

"I was blackmailed to join the Akatsuki," Kisame repeated. "I must also add that while I do kill, it isn't indiscriminately like Hidan the Immortal. I kill only for jobs, and even then I only kill those necessary. Children are left alone. This is why I am partnered with Itachi - he uses his Uchiha eyes to make them forget about me. Also, I have to add one last thing. Konan - the leader's wife - told me that I was to make sure that the stupid Kyuubi jinchuuriki gets away from us Akatsuki."

"Oh, I kinda forgot about her," Natashi admitted.

"Oops," Tsunade said, having completely forgotten about Konan as well.

"And as for the Living Puppets? How do we know they're on our side?" Mifune asked.

Terumi Mei chuckled, making everyone look at her.

"Well, if I am correct, that redheaded brat of a queen became a puppet only to kill the one controlling her. Which means she wouldn't sacrifice herself for just _anybody;_ she'd do it because she had a solid plan."

Mifune stroked his beard. "Hm. I see." He blinked and looked at the Kage. "How do you know her so well?"

"I'm one-fourth Uzumaki," Mei responded. "Did you hear about the Uzumaki ball? Some Uzumakis there tried to kill her. She has this power over Uzumakis."

Tsunade looked over at Natashi.

"Does it work on you?" she asked Natashi.

Eyes swiveled to Natashi, who shrugged. "No clue. I don't want to experiment, either. Controlling other people is wrong," he said firmly.

"Wait, you can use it?" Mei asked, puzzled.

"I'm technically the Queen," Natashi said, wincing a bit. "But I'm also the Uzukage. Figured it'd be best if I didn't show up as both Queen and Kage. It'd be awkward. Plus, I was getting so tired of the paperwork that comes with being Queen _and_ Kage!" Natashi covered his head, looking mortified. "Especially since we're rebuilding. On that note... I must address an issue, with Hokage-dono's permission." Tsunade frowned, wondering - She nodded as she realized what she was going to say. "Bakahatsu no Deidara has been cleared of all crimes. All questions about this are to be directed to Tsuchikage-sama." The Kages all looked at the Tsuchikage, Tsunade hiding a malicious smirk.

The Tsuchikage's face was pale and uncertain.

"Wow, Tsuchikage-dono," Gaara said with a small smirk on his face, "I had no idea you managed to piss off the queen so badly." Gaara coughed. "Also, Natashi... We're married."

Natashi nodded - then stared at him.

"When did this happen?!" Natashi squeaked.

"Must've been after you were created," Gaara mused. "But we married."

"Oh, dear Kami-sama, I'm a _married person._ Wait, does this mean we have an alliance?" Natashi asked hopefully.

"No, it means we married for no reason." Gaara deadpanned. "Obviously we have an alliance, Natashi."

"That also means I can do this," Tsunade said, standing up. "You ever fuck with my grandchild, I'll kill you, regardless if it causes war." She smiled darkly. "Rest assured that my strength has not been exaggerated."

The door to the room opened, and Naruto stood there, looking exhausted and like she'd just gotten up.

"You have to hurry," Naruto said, coughing a little. "Obito won't wait forever. Sasuke just told me that he killed Orochimaru... And -" Naruto coughed again. "Kabuto's planning on using the Edo Tensei."

Tsunade and Natashi stood up, horror etched onto their faces.

"No," Tsunade breathed.

Naruto nodded, coughing again.

"Grandma, I'd like to help in any way I can, but -" Naruto staggered to the table. "Kabuto and Orochimaru raided the island. My island. There's no Uzumaki alive that can tell us what happened."

Tsunade frowned.

"Hold on. You say this Kabuto will use this jutsu. Why is it so horrendous?" Mifune asked, frowning.

"It brings the dead back to a state of animation," Natashi said, making everyone pause and glance again to the Uzukage. "I've seen it in action before. If Kabuto controls them -"

"- but he can't control too many at once, Orochimaru had to use kunai for that, and it was just to kill the Sandaime," Naruto interrupted from across the table. "So, if we were to assume that he has found a way to control a lot -"

"- then we're going to have to assume that Kabuto and Orochimaru worked on it together, giving Kabuto what he desired, and therefore -"

"- Kabuto wants to help Obito in taking the bijuu, and again, that's not exactly counting the army Obito is giving him of Shiro-Zetsu," Naruto said, confusing everyone.

Natashi nodded. "And if the Kyuubi is correct, we're going to have a problem on our hands if Kuro-Zetsu is around, because in all reality _he's_ the one to be scared of."

"Very true," Naruto nodded. Naruto suddenly jumped up. "But if Obito's not the one in charge, because he definitely _isn't,_ Madara - the real one - could be an Edo Tensei. Which also means -"

" - he'll need a technique to bring him back to life!" Natashi nodded, standing up like Naruto. Everyone's head went back-and-forth between redheads. "That means he needs a Rinnegan, but Kyuubi makes a good point that he might already have one."

Naruto nodded, still looking excited. "He can't exactly die twice," Naruto informed Natashi. "But if he really didn't die at the Valley of the End, it's plausible he already _has_ a Rinnegan. But that's okay, seeing as we have three Rinne eyes altogether."

Natashi nodded, but frowned. "What if Obito uses Nagato's Rinne eye?"

"That'd be really stupid," Naruto responded. "Because Madara, as an Edo Tensei, can't die twice!"

"He can use his own Rinnegan to revive himself!" Tsunade said, standing up in her seat and joining in the conversation she'd finally understood.

"Yep! But that means we're going to have to fight Madara. We're going to need a lot more firepower," Naruto said, looking down.

"Or, you could use Orochimaru," Tsunade said, knowing her ex-teammate well.

Instantly, Naruto and Natashi got it.

"SASUKE'S CURSED SEAL!" they chorused.

"And an Uzumaki shrine," Tsunade smirked. "There's a mask in there that can free souls from the Shinigami."

Naruto smirked deviously. "If we use some Shiro-Zetsu -"

" - we can use the Shiro-Zetsu as sacrifices for the Edo Tensei... Or Orochimaru can, seeing as he's kinda the go-to person for reviving the dead with heinous practices," Natashi said. Both Uzumakis shivered at the reminder.

"This is all assuming, of course," Naruto added, turning to Mifune, who looked as confused as ever, "that you grant us use of an army. Because there _will_ be a war, and the only way we can stop Madara is if he show up, alive and well. There isn't a single person among us who can beat him while he's dead," Naruto said bluntly.

Mifune stared at her for a minute.

"Then I ask the Kages of each village to bring your nation's shinobi together here, in Tetsu no Kuni," Mifune announced. "Naruto-dono. If you could possibly bring the other, smaller nations of shinobi with you when you return with any reinforcements -"

Naruto nodded, her eyes turning serious. She turned to Tsunade.

"May I borrow Saki and Neji from your force?" Naruto asked her.

Tsunade nodded. "Saki, go with her."

Saki appeared on the table.

"I KNEW YOU LOVED ME! YOU CAME BACK!"

Natashi punched Saki, and Saki hit the wall.

"Please stop that," Natashi requested.


	69. 69

Koyuki, eating dinner, was called by her guardsman. "Koyuki-hime! Naruto-san is here to see you!"

Koyuki gestured for them to be allowed in, and an eyebrow of hers rose at the girl's clothing. She looked like a noble.

"Koyuki-hime. I come to you as a monarch and a Kage, to ask that you allow your ninja to come with us to join the Allied Shinobi Forces," Naruto said, bowing. "We are facing a large threat, and we know not what will happen."

"I see," Koyuki said, frowning. "Akahoshi." Her guard took of his helmet. "Send a letter to the Hidden Frost Village. Tell them that they are to go..." She trailed off and looked enquiringly at Naruto.

"To Testu no Kuni," Naruto replied.

"To Testu no Kuni," repeated Koyuki. "The genin are to stay and help guard the village. Are you headed to the Hidden Star Village next?"

Naruto nodded. "Natashi is. He'll go to the Hidden Star Village, then Hidden Grass. There's no reason for them not to help. I'm going to the Hidden Waterfall Village and then back to Konoha, Nami, and Uzushio."

Koyuki stood and hugged Naruto. Then she stepped back and took off her father's gift to her.

Placing it around Naruto's neck, it looked good next to the green crystal.

"Thank you," Koyuki said to the teenager. "For all you've done for me and my people. When you finish the war, come back and we'll have a dinner together."

Naruto hugged her again, and Koyuki was struck by how grown-up she was.

~:~

Saki was amused by how many ninja the Crescent Moon Kingdom had trained. They were good; surprisingly so. It was still a bit funny that a kingdom like this had a noticeable ninja force.

She walked down the courtyard, her Konoha headband making her an outsider.

"I'm here on behalf of Uzumaki Naruto," she called out. "My name is Uchiha Saki, I am Uchiha Sasuke's VERY distant cousin." She held up the official-looking scroll. "This was sent for the king to read. It is a request from her to you."

The castle gates opened, and Saki stepped in.

A young man appeared. "You look like Sasuke."

"I have boobs, gaki," Saki scowled. She really did. Her chest had grown out with her on and off times with the dragons; Neji had grown, too, going to the summon world when she did. Since Neji had finished his tests with the bunnies sooner than Saki, Neji had gotten a new bloodline.

Saki was a master of wind now, much like the Nidaime being a master of the water element.

"Okay, then..." The kid looked annoyed. "Where's Naruto?"

"She's busy, I was sent here in her place," Saki replied. "Here." She tossed the scroll to him. "That's for the king."

"I am the prince," the teen replied, frowning at her. "My father is the king. I'm Hikari."

"Saki." Saki frowned a little. "Please, tell him it is important. I will wait out here if you're not comfortable with me."

"No, please." Hikari moved aside. "Despite your rudeness, I owe a lot to Naruto. Specifically, my homeland."

"A lot of people seem to owe her that much," Saki replied, stepping in. "And she doesn't even mean to make them owe her." She gazed around at the opulence.

"Why do ninja use rice paper scrolls?" asked the prince, opening the scroll and staring at the elegant handwriting.

"Because thin paper and chakra don't mix, _prince,"_ Saki said, scowling. "You'd know that if you were ninja. Most of us use rice paper." She bit her lip. "Look, I'm headed elsewhere, and I'm in a _huge_ hurry. So can you please hurry?"

The prince glared at her and left.

He came back not long after, his face polite.

"Here. Half of the jounin are to go."

Saki nodded. "It's on the riverbank, isn't it? I saw it when I was coming here." She grinned at his disbelieving look. "They're well-trained, despite having formed three years ago."

She jogged out of the room, then used a _shunshin_ to disappear quietly.

Appearing in the trees, she was immediately surrounded by the Crescent Moon shinobi.

"I come with an order from your king," Saki announced, holding up the scroll. "I am Uchiha Saki from Konohagakure no Sato and Uzushiogakure no Sato."

"Come out from where you hide, Konoha ninja."

Saki was surprised. She was standing _right there..._

"I'm not hiding," Saki said, easing onto her feet. "I'm standing in the middle of you."

"Konoha ninja _are_ good at hiding in trees," a female voice whispered. There was a pause.

"Get on the ground, Konoha shinobi."

Saki got on the ground, eyes wide as half a legion (it seemed) appeared around her.

"I am the leader. Open the scroll so we know it isn't a trap." A bulky older nin appeared.

Saki opened it, then flipped it.

"Is it authentic?"

The leader walked forward and took it.

"It is authentic."

~:~

Neji was led to Konan. She was sitting behind a desk.

"Konan-san. Amegakure no Sato is yours?" Polite talk was not his forte.

"For now. What is it you need?" Konan demanded.

Neji set Naruto's missive down.

"For you to read this."

Konan opened it, read it quickly, and set it down.

"I shall call my forces."

~:~

The Hidden Star Village allowed Naruto to meet the Hoshikage (star shadow) outside their village.

"Hoshikage-dono," Naruto bowed. "I am Uzumaki Naruto, the Uzumaki Queen. I rule Uzushio."

"Foolish to come alone, Queen," the man laughed. "Kill her!"

Ninja leaped out at her.

Naruto withdrew her sword. Nine quick strokes and their armor fell off, their kunai shaved in half.

"I am the queen of the Uzumakis, and you _will_ listen," Naruto snarled.

The Hoshikage swallowed in fear.

~:~

Konoha bustled; at least, until the Elders, who had taken over Konoha, got wind of two redheads entering their village.

Stalking into the village, the ANBU came to take them out, per the Elders' wishes, but the two redheads calmly strode forward.

The ANBU did not move to kill. Shinobi, leaping from roof to roof, stopped in their tracks to watch the two redheads' procession.

"Natashi, I can do this alone," Naruto said, speaking to her partner.

"I don't want to risk them dying because of your Uzumaki temper," Natashi replied.

"I have an order from Tsunade herself," Naruto said flatly. "Go to Nami, then to Uzu. I will be heading to Kumo next; Neji will meet me there."

"Right, you get to go and have lots of fun on an island alone while I help direct the biggest army in the world," Natashi said grumpily.

"Just do it," Naruto told him sharply.

"Yes, your highness."

He turned around and headed out of Konoha. Naruto kept walking, her steps sure.

She walked through the marketplace. Her robe definitely caught eyes as she moved forward, never stopping or slowing or even speeding up. She was self-assured, and she walked confidently.

People in the marketplace were stunned into silence.

She turned to the Hokage Tower, completely unopposed.

She walked in the door, the ANBU ninja in the room pausing to stare, and walked into the office of the Elders.

"Hello, Elders," Naruto greeted cordially. "Yuuhi Kurenai is the temporary Hokage, if you would go get her, Neko-san. I have the official orders from Tsunade-sama right here."

She took out the scroll and held it up for the young purple-haired woman. She took it.

"You are officially removed from office," Naruto said to the Elders. "And the 'Ne' are to be put under Hatake Kakashi's command." Naruto smiled at them politely. "If you would be still -"

Sai appeared, eyes blank. Shin also appeared.

"Sai. Shin."

They were knocked out.

"Really, Nia?"

A new redhead materialized. "I didn't want you killing them, Highness. The dark-haired one was cute."

"I'm pretty sure he's gay," Naruto replied.

Nia shrugged. "I'm lesbian."

Naruto frowned at her. "You just said -"

"He's _cute,"_ Nia replied with a smile. "I removed the seals from their bodies not a minute ago. Hatori, send it to Kakashi-san, would you?"

Hatori shimmered into view. "Of course, beloved. You should get the Yuuhi lady; Naruto-sama can handle herself, no?"

"Indeed," Nia smiled. "My lady." Both bowed at Naruto before vanishing.

"You take away our responsibility?" Koharu demanded.

"I don't care about that," Naruto said to them, a frown going over her face. "Koharu, Homura - you were the Sandaime's trusted teammates. Danzou was too; he had me kidnapped."

"He did." A creeping feeling was going up Naruto's spine. "And I heard Sasori had you captured, too."

"Wrong." Naruto took out her sword and stabbed the ground. Kurama's chakra flooded the room, destroying any and all seals that were there to paralyze her. "Let me guess: You know about Saki's eyes."

"We did," Koharu said, looking put out.

The door opened, and Nia appeared with Kurenai. Quickly, Naruto retracted her bijuu's energy.

"I give people second chances," Naruto said, putting her sword back in her sheath. "I do not give third ones."

She looked at Kurenai and bowed.

"Your Hokage said all that is needed in the scroll Neko-san has," Naruto said, walking away. "I shall see you when I see you."


	70. 70

Kabuto was intrigued. "So the queen has it all figured out, does she?" Kabuto wondered. "Funny, how things tend to work out." The coffins said nothing. Kabuto stroked one of them. "Oh, I can't wait to see your abilities..." He grinned, his Orochimaru-esque eyes gleaming predatorily. "More than that, I cannot wait to see what little Naru-chan has to offer~ As soon as she is dead, I will use the Edo Tensei on her~"

"She is not so easily beaten," Obito replied, startling Kabuto. The younger man didn't show it, but he was very startled. "If you think she can be bested by them, you are more stupid than I thought. Now that I do not know how much she has grown, it is difficult to tell the outcome of this war."

"You think there will be a war?" Kabuto asked, tilting his head.

"I know so." Obito tapped his fingers. "I was spying on Konan; she had a visitor. I, regretfully, didn't kill him. You will need a lot more Shiro-Zetsus."

"They're expendable," Kabuto waved it away. "My pawns will continue reforming until they're sealed. But by that time, we will kidnap the girl, take out the bijuu, and then revive her." He grinned. "Destroying her morale would not be amiss."

Obito chuckled.

"I was planning to do so. Destroying something she holds most dear... But that comes later. How far have you gotten at calculating how much Kyuubi youkai we need?"

"I already calculated it," the former associate of Orochimaru frowned. "We need nine tails of pure Kyuubi. There can be no other source. I tried with those captured, but they have their own unique youkai. We _need_ the Kyuubi." He flung out a hand to the test tubes in the room. Several kitsune hung suspended in green liquid. "These don't even have _trace amounts_ of the Kyuubi's own chakra."

"Interesting. Set them free." Obito caught the incredulous look on Kabuto's face and amended his plan a little. "I have a little surprise for the demon community."

Kabuto bowed mockingly. "Of course." He pressed a button, and the pods opened, the water and demons falling onto the ground. "It's their move," he whispered, eyeing the board.

~:~

Naruto stopped at the Uzumaki shrine just outside of Konoha, hidden near one of Orochimaru's bases. Sasuke was standing next to it, with four others.

Naruto ignored them, opening a box and taking all of the masks off the walls. With a frown, she realized that the mask she'd bought from that merchant hung on the wall. Well, she knew it had been missing but it was like she'd ignored it.

She ignored the pain in her body; the lack of Yin chakra was starting to affect her heavily.

Then she removed the Shinigami mask.

"Let's move to a different place," she suggested as soon as she exited the shrine.

It crumbled behind her.

"Why did it just -" the dark-haired girl said, the child hanging onto her back gasping in awe as a light shone from within the shrine; then it faded, and the shrine's remains turned to dust. Literal dust.

"It was old," Naruto offered as an explanation. "Now, which of you has Orochimaru's curse mark and wouldn't mind losing the benefits of it?"

The tall, orange-haired man rose his hand.

Naruto hummed to herself. Then she kicked the door to Orochimaru's base down, checked a couple rooms, then set the box down in an empty room on a table. Biting her thumb, Naruto activated the locking mechanism and seals on the box.

Nia was a very thorough woman.

"Nia, if you would help," she said. Nia materialized behind the orange-haired man.

"Please, sit," Nia said in her calm, soft voice.

The man sat down, cross-legged.

"What we're going to do will hurt," Naruto told him kindly. "You will lose its effects, which include but are not limited to homicidal rage, paranoia, depression -"

"Naruto, you're rambling," Nia said, not taking her eyes off of the man. "What's your name?" Nia asked the man.

"Juugo."

"I'm Nia, Juugo, and this is my queen, Uzumaki Naruto. We're going to take the seal and kind of reverse it." Nia and Naruto met each others' eyes.

 _I really hope we're not idiots and he's not fucking insane,_ Naruto told Nia with her eyes.

 _I think we're on the same page there,_ the woman responded.

Naruto took a deep, steadying breath, reaching for that kernel of power that always told her the nature of seals. Nia had told her of the ancient Uzumakis, who could summon a seal from their own blood.

Naruto bit her thumb and knelt down.

A seal sprang into existence, seamlessly appearing under Juugo. No hours of laboriously trying to create a seal... Just... Appearing.

Then Naruto took another breath as she re-bit into her thumb and placed it on Juugo's shoulder, near the cursed seal was.

 _Draw him out,_ the seal was told. The seal that appeared sank into Juugo's shoulder, but instead of Juugo feeling pain all he felt was something tickling him. A smile appeared on his face, and Nia looked alarmed.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto's face was the one contorted in pain.

"She's drawing the side-effects of drawing him out into her!"

What looked like ink splattered on the ground near Naruto's feet.

Blood started coming from Naruto's mouth and nose.

" _Shimatta_! Naruto, stop!"

Nia was panicking.

"I almost have it!" Naruto snapped, never opening her eyes. More 'ink' oozed from Juugo's shoulder until the seal on Juugo's shoulder faded and Naruto's seal went back into her. Orochimaru formed from the ink, and everyone took a step back from him.

Naruto's seal faded, but Naruto wasn't done.

She pressed a foot on Orochimaru's chest, and a drop of her blood fell onto his face.

"Get. Out."

Orochimaru flinched, Naruto taking her foot off of him.

A sudden coughing fit from Orochimaru expelled something really nasty; Nia fried it with her raiton, and Naruto smiled.

"Everyone's okay here. He's... Been controlled. Not all of it's Danzou, but most of it was." She swayed.

Nia jumped over Juugo, but someone else got to her first. Uchiha Saki looked completely and thoroughly unamused.

"Somebody care to tell me why the hell my bestie is unconscious?" she demanded.

Naruto opened her eyes.

"Sleepy bestie," she corrected in a slurred voice.

Saki knocked her out.

"Well, Orochimaru knows how to work the Shinigami mask," Nia said quietly. "We were going to make him use it, let him get his arms back, but summon the four dead Kage."

Saki looked at Naruto. "Oh. Okay. Guess that's why she's hauling in four white tree things."

"Who?" everyone asked in unison before a grumpy-looking kitsune appeared, hauling four white tree things.

"I never ever thought of using _them,"_ Orochimaru said.

"No, you sacrificed babies," Saki deadpanned. "Summon who you need to."

They were tossed in four places.

Orochimaru took the mask. "Normally it costs a life."

"Good thing I grabbed five, then," the kitsune snapped, disappearing and reappearing with another one. "Here."

She slammed it down.

Saki put a boot on the creature's chest.

"Let's get this over with."


	71. 71

Saki set Naruto against the wall, but Naruto opened her eyes.

Saki turned as Orochimaru went to put on the mask.

"No, I have to." Naruto's statement stunned them.

Orochimaru handed her the mask, and Saki helped her up, frowning.

Naruto took a deep breath and placed the mask on.

The Shinigami appeared.

Naruto walked forward and opened her hands.

The shinigami opened its mouth, and the souls appeared. Even the shadowed formation of Orochimaru's arms, which went to Orochimaru.

Naruto took out her sword. She held it in front of her.

The Shinigami took the knife it had and placed it in the sword's body.

Then the Shinigami vanished.

Naruto took the sword and sheathed it, taking off the mask.

"What was _that?"_ Saki ignored the four bodies appearing over the White Zetsu.

"The Shinigami said that I must take two lives, four if I'm going to use White Zetsus, with this blade." Naruto walked over to the first Shiro-Zetsu and stabbed into its skull. "That's one. And I'm only borrowing the knife for that. An exchange, I suppose."

"Four White Zetsus in return for four souls." Saki shook her head. "Better make it eight."

"I hate to interrupt," Orochimaru said silkily, "But we _do_ have a war to finish before it starts."

"Ah. Right." Saki turned towards the four people. "Um. Naruto?"

Naruto followed her gaze to the man who looked kind of nervous.

"Okay, so we're all on the same page," she said, pointing at the person who looked like her father. "He's not my real dad. You do know that, right?"

Everyone looked at the fake Yondaime.

"I'm a _clone_ of your dad," the clone said with a smile. "I think. I have the memories of your father, but yes I knew. I was still excited when Kushina told me she was pregnant... Despite I'd been 'created' not long before." The fake Yondaime looked suddenly worried. "Naruto -"

Naruto shook her head, chuckling. "Don't be sorry. Anyway. Sasuke. I know you have a few questions for the Kage. I've got to go to Kumo. Nia. Please take the masks home."

Nia bowed, picking up the basket.

Naruto walked out of the cave, Saki electing on staying.

"Is that really Naruto?" The Shodai asked, looking stunned.

The Nidaime looked nonplussed. "She looks similar to when we met her."

"Yes, yes, some of us know the story," Saki rudely interrupted.

The Nidaime sniffed. "Don't speak in such a tone to me, Uchiha brat."

Saki's eyes narrowed, and she allowed her Sharingan to appear.

" _Excuse me?"_ she asked him, striding forward and getting in his face. "I hate you. Naruto does, too, because she knows the feeling of her own clan being on the verge of extinction. So DON'T you _dare_ take that tone with me, _Lord Second."_

Her cursed eyes burned.

"Besides," Saki added with a smirk. "Your secret mastery of water isn't such a secret, Nidaime-sama. I've got the contract too~" she giggled at the outraged look on his face.

"We don't have time to chat," Sasuke said briskly. "We have a war." He looked at Orochimaru and his companions. "Juugo, you'll have to stay out of this one. I'm sorry. Take care of Yuukimaru - and Guren, you stay, too. Saki. Do you know what will happen?"

"Yes," Saki replied, smirking. "We know Kabuto intends to use the Edo Tensei. Sasuke, I'm assigning that task to you."

"What about -" Sasuke began, only for Saki to chuckle. The four Kage looked to her, a devious expression on the Uchiha's face.

"They might have many dead ninja on their side," she explained in a light tone. "But did you forget Naruto's people?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "They're fighting?"

Saki nodded. "Yep."

~:~

The army, mostly made up of the Great Five Villages, kept their eyes out for their final set of allies.

Then they saw... Red dots, interspaced with lots of other hair colors. Mainly redheads, though.

Led by Natashi.

"The Uzumakis have come!" Shiranui Genma shouted. Konoha's and Suna's cheers echoed.

The sealmasters would be needed, and desperately.

~:~

Gaara stood at the head of the army, Natashi by his side.

"They're arguing," Natashi said softly.

"What has happened in the past is not so easily forgiven," Onoki replied.

Natashi grunted. "Oh, I know that, Onoki." Anger flashed in his eyes. "Oh, look! My people are getting involved."

~"~

Uzumaki Ren heard a voice rudely ask his Uzumaki neighbor, "And where have you been all this time?" It was an Iwa ninja.

Ren turned, stopping his neighbor from talking. Several other ninja stopped talking as they waited for the answer; and Ren gave it.

"Well, most of us were kind of dead," Ren said with a smile. "Because of Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo. But, well - I don't think our problems match up with yours. After all, we've only spent the better of four years _rebuilding our village from scratch."_

A tense silence.

Sand split some people apart, but nobody paid attention. Ren heard his Kage order silence, and the Uzumakis went silent.

Then -

 **"IF YOU LOT WON'T SHUT THE** ** _FUCK_** **UP, I'M GOING TO BURST OUT OF MY HOST AND DEVOUR** ** _ALL OF YOU!"_**

Dead silence reigned.

"All yours, Gaara," Natashi-sama said to the other redhead.

Gaara nodded at her.

"Everyone! I realize that in the past, we have all made mistakes with each other's village! But I... I'm here because I want to protect my friend!" Gaara closed his eyes. "My friend... Who cried for me when I was an enemy! My friend, who shared my pain! The pain of being a jinchuuriki. The friend who helped me see that I had people who cared for me." Gaara opened those teal eyes of his. "I married that friend; so as a husband, I hope to aide her in rebuilding her village! I hope to aide all of you! But this - this cannot happen if we constantly fight each other. So please! Help me in defeating this army. If you have an accusation against Sunagakure no Sato after all this is over, I will give you my head!"

"Um - no you won't, you moron!" Natashi snapped. "You're my - or, my other self's - husband, and I have to keep you alive! So after all this is over you all can have _my_ head in place of his!"

Gaara sweatdropped, but continued.

"Who is with me?"

A unanimous silence.

Ren shoved his fist up in unison with the other Uzumaki, Konohans, and Suna-nins.

"WE ARE!"

The other nations and villages hollered, but not in the perfect harmony the three allies had done.

~:~

Neji and Naruto entered the HQ in Kumogakure. The Kage were there; as Naruto sat down, Neji stood next to her at full attention.

"Ready?" Tsunade asked Naruto. Naruto grinned.

"I'll do what I can."

Neji nodded. "How's the war going so far?"

Ao answered from his seated position. "Naruto-hime, the First Ambush Unit has gone forth first. I believe that they're facing Kakuzu of the Akatsuki and Akasuna no Sasori."

Naruto got up and touched the sphere. She yanked her hand back, her eyes wide.

"Wow, that's some pretty intense fighting." Naruto touched it again, her eyes closed. "Kakuzu's losing pretty badly thanks to the seal masters - holy shit. I'm - no way!" Naruto paled. "He's - no way. Kabuto couldn't have - couldn't have gotten his DNA!"

"Whose DNA?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto went scarily quiet.

"He got them both." Her voice was pissed suddenly. "He got Shisui's DNA and..." She faltered. "Grandfather's."

Tsunade looked anguished for a fleeting second.

Naruto was already moving to Inoichi.

"Inoichi-san, I need you to get me to Saki's mind, then my other self's. Coming up on Battlefield B is my grandfather and three Kage-level shinobi; Gaara and I should be there, waiting, but I shouldn't be taken by surprise. Nobody should."

Inoichi nodded. "Connected to Uchiha Saki's mind," he reported.

 _:Saki, listen up. Your brother is coming up on your battlefield. Hopefully he'll hesitate to kill you.:_

 _:I can beat him,:_ Saki replied confidently, but sadly. _:The dead do not grow as the living.:_

Naruto disconnected from her mind, connecting to her own self's mind.

 _:Natashi, listen up. Three Kage-level ninja are coming up on your battlefield. As well as -:_ Naruto faltered. _:As well as Jiraiya. He can probably attain perfect Sage Mode now. Who knows?:_

 _:Got it,:_ Natashi said. Luckily, Naruto could share her power with her blood clones; the knowledge of how to do so was in his brain. _:Warning Gaara and Rasa.:_

 _:Thanks.:_

Naruto disconnected, going back over to the sphere, and touched it again. There wasn't much alarm on her face; no need to worry the masses.

"I need to send Kage bunshins out," Naruto frowned as Kurama suggested a course of action. "In sync mode, the Kyuubi and I could destroy Shiro-Zetsus by the dozens." Copying herself was easy - now if only she could _ignore the pain,_ she'd be _fantastic._ She noticed that each of her clones carried a piece of the shinigami's blade.

"I need you to kill them with your swords," Naruto said to the first mass shadow clones.

They saluted, then entered sync mode before running out.

The three other Kages watched with interest as she created over three hundred of them, all with her chakra.

"If you weren't using sync mode, how many clones could you make?" asked A.

Naruto shrugged. "Considering the fact I have an immense amount of chakra... A lot," she said simply. "Possibly over a thousand shadow clones. If I had a month, I could make just as many blood clones. But I can't use my chakra often."

She avoided Tsunade's eyes.

"I can see why," Oonoki chuckled. "You are powerful enough, little one." Naruto glanced at him warily. He looked away from her gaze; Naruto pressed her hand on the sphere.

~:~

Saki made them stop walking, instead she walked out in front of them, squaring her shoulders.

"Hello, nii-san."

Itachi's eyes widened as Saki said this. Kisame, next to him, looked at Itachi questioningly. Sasuke tensed, gripping his unbreakable sword.

A young man with Edo Tensei eyes appeared.

"Hello, nee-chan." He paused. "Show nii-san how much you've grown, okay?"

Saki nodded, her eyes changing. Shisui looked proud of her, even as his own eyes changed.

"I love you, nii-san," Saki whispered, right as her Susano'o formed. His Susano'o formed as well, causing the ninja waiting for Saki to stare as two similar Susano'o formed in front of them. Swords appeared, and the two Susano'o began fighting.

"You don't know how much I've missed you, nii-san! How much I've wanted to surpass you!" Saki's voice was clear and free. "I think I can do it, too!"

As if to punctuate her statement, Saki and her Susano'o vanished.

And then it was on top of the other Susano'o, cracking it. Just as Saki was cracking her brother's body.

Saki hugged him hard.

 _"Sayonara."_

She put the seal on him, and Shisui was rendered inert.


	72. 72

"Shisui has been defeated," Naruto reported. "The Four Reanimated Kages have arrived at Battlefield B." Ao smirked, pleased that he had help. "Gaara's squadron has engaged the three Kages; Jiraiya has been sealed and defeated by Nia, no interference from Natashi. Gaara has sealed one of the three Kage-level ninja, leaving two more to be defeated - however, one has left the battlefield completely."

"Another signature headed this way!" Ao called. Naruto frowned and pushed on the sphere - only to freeze up and whirl away.

"I'm heading to go stop Obito!" Naruto called, heading out the door.

"No!" Tsunade stopped her. "You can't. We had this room sealed. Nobody but others of Kumo allegiance can find it."

Naruto turned to her.

"He can warp _anywhere,_ Tsunade-dono. Why would he run if he wasn't waiting for me?"

"You... Know it's a trap," Tsunade said, sweatdropping.

Naruto smirked. "Yep. And I'm going to spring it."

Tsunade sighed. "Alright then. Where do you think Madara will appear?"

Naruto frowned. "Possibly... With Gaara and the others," Naruto nodded. "But I don't think he'll arrive there just yet. They haven't yet defeated the other Kage-level ninja. I bet Nia lured Jiraiya into a trap, sealed him there."

Tsunade nodded. "Inoichi! Tell Natashi that Naruto is leaving HQ, and to alert us when Madara appears!"

"I'll head out to that battlefield," Oonoki offered, levitating up.

Naruto nodded. "Okay. Have a nice day! Oh - and Killer B, want to join me? Two jinchuuriki together might win against Obito."

"I'm going," Neji said abruptly, making Naruto hesitate.

She nodded, and the three were off.

~:~

Neji activated his Byakugan, both to look for Obito, and to look at Naruto's chakra.

He spotted Obito waiting ahead with several jinchuuriki-like beings.

"He is waiting up ahead."

Naruto nodded, coughing a little. "Good."

"Naruto-san, are we going to pummel them once and for all?" Killer B asked, looking unusually serious. "Some of those jinchuuriki are friends of mine."

Naruto stopped. "I think I can create seals from nowhere. However, I need a basis, like... Your seal and my seal."

Wordlessly, Killer B showed her his seal, shrugging aside a part of his Kumo uniform.

"Okay, so this allows for complete suppression of the Hachibi if necessary, correct?" she asked, staring at it. "Yes. I can work with this. I just need to touch them."

"And get the rods out of their chests," Neji added.

Naruto nodded. "Right, chakra rods... I should have guessed."

"Naruto, I think we should hurry. I think he knows we're here."

Naruto nodded. "Let's go!"

~:~

Obito idly wondered if he was going to die.

He thought he should probably be more concerned, but... Nope. He seriously didn't give a damn about dying right now. He was different than what Madara had wanted. He wanted the cursed seal off his heart. He wanted to live with Kakashi and not hate him, be slammed into the wall by Iruka when he was accidentally perverted, and eat ramen with Naruto.

He had a ton of regrets. And now he couldn't do shit.

With his regret, he began ordering the undead to fight.

~:~

 _With Gaara_

Natashi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was beginning to get tired; perhaps not a good thing, but he had to continue.

The coffin finally opened.

"Oh." He surprised himself by speaking. "I can fight this guy. Easy. No prob."

"Who is it?" Gaara asked, looking puzzled as Natashi walked ahead. Natashi turned and kept walking back.

"It's Uchiha Madara!" he called.

He turned back and slammed his hands on the ground.

A _genjutsu_ hiding the rest of the army sprang up. Weak, compared to kitsune magic - but it would do for now. He took out his sword.

Madara's eyes opened.

"Took a while," Natashi called to him as he focused. "I was beginning to think you were a defective _Edo Tensei."_

"I have not been given life by the Nagato child?" Madara frowned.

Natashi switched genders, shock entering Madara's eyes as he saw her, and then switched back to his other gender. "No, he's dead. Thanks, pretty much, to you." He sighed.

"I'm glad you're fighting in your male form. It would make me less guilty of killing a woman."

Natashi opened his mouth, infuriated.

Then he shut it.

"Just for that," he said in a pleasant tone, switching genders again, "I'll be a girl for this battle, _bitch."_

He sneered and slammed his hand on the ground. A summoning circle appeared.

Natashi stumbled, clutching her stomach. Bile rose up in her mouth, but she forcefully swallowed it down.

"I see. You are the Kyuubi jinchuuriki." A glint was in Madara's eyes.

"Yes." Natashi summoned the dark red chakra. "And I will personally be your end."

~:~

If someone had told Madara in his previous life he would be facing a _woman_ on equal footing, he would have scoffed; even his wife, Izaya, had not been able to stand with him on equal footing.

But the dead did not learn like the living.

The woman in front of him clashed her blade against his. He could feel the power of the Kyuubi simmering underneath the surface of the blade, ready to be called into action but not lending any strength to her strike.

However, even as she fought and kept her footing, he noticed something about her.

She had an unhealthy pallor that did not befit her. And from what Hashirama had noted after the strange girl had vanished - during one particularly quiet night with nothing to talk about but that girl - she was dying.

And she probably knew it. She was going to fight to her last breath to keep the Kyuubi safe.

"Hmm." He stopped, stepping back, watching her tremble slightly as a wave of pain went through her. "I like dancing with you."

'Dancing' meaning fighting.

She grinned at him. "It's exhilarating, yes?"

Suddenly, something exploded in the sand.

A Susano'o towered over an Uchiha woman, who looked like she was enjoying it.

"Hey, honeylips. Wanna get down and dirty?" She asked, looking at the girl, who groaned and facepalmed. "Oh, hey, super-old-and-dead Uchiha! Wanna combine our love and win the day, sugar t-"

"You say another syllable and I'll kill you," the Uzumaki sighed wearily.

Madara grinned. "I think I like this dance."

He leaped forward, dragging the Uzumaki into a suddenly enclosed, yet big, area. The inside of _his_ Susano'o.

He opened his eyes to reveal the Rinnegan, and the redhead's eyes glinted in amusement. They, too, changed. Blue Rinnegan eyes met his, and both his Susano'o and the Uchiha girl's began fighting.

"Give me the Kyuubi and I will make your end swifter than it is already approaching." Madara saw the confusion, then realization, then defiance.

"Burn in Hell," the Uzumaki spat.

"I already have." Madara grinned viciously. He launched forward, mimicking Tobirama's Flying Raijin Strike, but the girl was gone, a single, tri-pronged kunai in her place; for a minute, Madara tried to realize where she'd gone.

He dodged the strike from above, and the girl recovered, leaping to her feet and sweeping her sword low. Madara jumped, trying to stab through her shoulder. She leaned to the side, a single inch, and Madara missed and tried to change his strike again.

She blocked it with one of those tri-pronged kunai.

Something changed.

Her Rinnegan eyes were overlapped by frog-like eyes.

Sage mode.

He stepped back, wondering how he could recover from this.

She lunged -

-and doubled over, coughing. Blood was expelled from her mouth.

~:~

Natashi gasped, fighting it.

Madara knelt next to her.

"Your fight is admirable," he said, in a gentle voice. "If I take the Kyuubi, I can let you rest in peace."

Natashi chuckled weakly. "If I wanted to, I couldn't give you the Kyuubi," she admitted freely. "I'm not the real Naruto."

Madara wouldn't be able to get to the other her in time, either. All Naruto had to do was wait - wait until the sun had come up again.

She could feel the air cooling.

She wasn't sure if she could last until morning.

"Then I suppose I will just have to get the information out of you," he said, again in that gentle tone. "Look up, Naruto."

His voice was... Hypnotic. Sounds of the battlefield faded away.

Slowly, she began to look up.

~:~

Madara had only layered his voice with a _genjutsu._ She was weaker than he thought if it worked with just one use.

Most people did, anyway. They never snapped out of it.

"HEY, SUGAR TITS!"

The Uzumaki girl paused.

 _No. This can't be happening._

"OUR LOVE IS SO STRONG, MY LOVE! I WILL NEVER FORSAKE YOU! SO GET THE HELL UP AND DON'T LISTEN TO MY PSYCHO-ASS ANCESTOR, HONEY BUNS!"

Madara stood, turning. Anger was on his face. His descendant stood there, her face grim even as she stared at Madara and shouted again across the battlefield:

"BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, I'M GOING TO TELL IRUKA YOU GAVE UP, SWEETUMS! AND THEN I'LL TELL YOUR DAD! YOU'RE THE QUEEN OF THE DAMN UZUMAKI. NO MATTER HOW SICK YOU ARE, YOU HAVE NEVER GIVEN UP, AND I EXPECT TO NEVER SEE ANYTHING DIFFERENT!"

Madara started advancing on the Uchiha girl. She stayed rooted to the spot, but did move - she started unwrapping the bandages on her forehead.

"You, girl."

His descendant glared at him.

"You must see that this is for the sake of a -"

"Fake. World."

The Uchiha spat out the words.

"Is it not better than this reality, girl?" he questioned.

"No, it isn't." She lifted her chin in denial. "Because in no fake world is my best friend going to kick your fucking ass as bad as she is now."

Madara stopped.

"AHHHHHH!"

A scream exited the Uzumaki girl's mouth as she shoved her sword into the Susano'o as Madara turned to see it.

Black lines exploded from the hilt of the blade, held in the girl's hand, which was smudged with blood. Her blood.


	73. 73

Worried was an understatement that Saki was feeling at the moment.

She'd heard stories of Madara being unbeatable, but either his skills were rusty or Naruto was fucking _awesome._

She was going with the latter, because Madara had probably kept up with his skills through the years.

As Madara turned, the seal - whichever one Naruto was trying to make - only half-finished and with ready to kick Naruto away as she fell to the ground, unconscious, Saki's vision went crystal clear and her hearing went fuzzy.

Her Susano'o grew legs.

"Don't. Touch. My. Sugar."

Her Susano'o tackled Madara's before she'd spoken, separating from her completely. Guided by a small part of her brain, another one - this one a mini Susano'o - appeared around Naruto like a suit of armor.

No matter if it was the real Naruto or not.

~:~

Madara was ready to make the girl die by simply kicking her (despite how much he would regret it; she was an excellent dancer), but he was tackled by the other one's Susano'o.

Looking at the Uchiha, he was shocked to see a blank look on her face as she said something he wasn't able to catch.

"Tell me your name," he ordered his descendant.

"I am Saki," the woman said, holding her chin up. "I am a disgrace to my former clan, the Uchiha." Her eyes spun madly. "That sword you're holding looks fine."

Madara frowned. She stepped forward.

 _"I'm going to make sure you choke on it."_ She smiled nastily.

~:~

"Uchiha Saki is going head to head with Uchiha Madara!" Ao reported, straining. "Natashi-sama seems to have collapsed, reason unknown!"

Tsunade stood. "I'm done." Tsunade's eyes flashed and she took out a kunai. "If this summons _him,_ then so be it."

She slammed it into the table.

A flash of yellow illuminated the room.

Two identical men stood there - one with Edo eyes, the other well and alive.

"Interesting," the alive one said before smiling and walking over to Oonoki, punching him in the face. "That's for everything."

"I'm sorry," the dead guy said, hanging his head. "I didn't really remember... But I know I can make it up."

Namikaze Minato shrugged.

"I'm over it. Pretty much, anyway. More like an older brother to my daughter anyway." He turned to his almost-twin. "I'm going to call _you_ Minato, I'll be Deidara still."

The other shook his head ruefully. "I'm Konaka. Minato is _your_ name."

"Konaka. Cool."

"Names, later, beat my grandfather's nemesis now," Tsunade ordered at once, glaring at them. "Can one of you take me, and the other A?"

"Sure," Konaka said, placing a hand on A's shoulder. Minato took his kunai out of the table and placed his hand on Tsunade's shoulder.

In a golden flash, they were gone.

~:~

Naruto restrained the jinchuurikis with only a few taps.

Obito was instantly in front of her, hand reaching out.

She dodged his grasp.

 _He's barely making a huge effort._ She saw his eyes. They were flat, dull. Resigned.

"Tell me, Tobi!" she yelled in an effort to knock him out of it.

"Heart... Cursed... Seal..."

She prepared to slam her hand into his chest to get the cursed seal -

" _Shinra Tensei!"_

Trees uprooted. Dirt flung everywhere. Naruto was flung back, but was caught by a tentacle.

Neji had used a _Kaiten_ to protect himself.

She looked up, catching her breath.

Madara stood there, looking powerful.

Naruto gritted her teeth.

"What happened to the others?" Obito asked dully.

"They mostly bored me," Madara said dismissively. "Five Kages and none of them were a challenge. Of course, two among the army that met me were entertaining, but they're either unconscious or dead. And the army fled like cowards."

Naruto noted how he kept staring at her avidly.

Neji noticed it, too, and stepped half in front of her, Gentle Fist ready.

"It's useless against Edo Tensei," she hissed at him. "I will face Madara."

"Will you fight against me, dying girl? You will only deteriorate faster!" Madara smirked.

Naruto sighed. "Oh, Madara," she smiled at him. "I have more tricks up my sleeve than you think."

The tentacle released her.

Naruto took a steadying breath before dispelling her clone she'd had collecting Sage energy, and at the same time clapping her hands together and entering perfect cloaked mode.

The effect made everyone stare.

Kurama added a little extra power as they collaborated. Her eyes changed a little - the bar turned into a 'plus' sign. She withdrew her sword again.

It had transformed like she had. The Uzumaki crest was on the metal.

She was Queen, and she would throw all she had at Madara.


	74. 74

Nothing had prepared the army for this.

Nothing.

They could only watch, in stupefied silence, as Naruto, golden and beautiful - long hair streaming behind her with a gleaming circlet in her hair - fighting against Madara, the dark one in the shadow.

Even the new arrivals could only watch as the Kyuubi jinchuuriki summoned a full golden-bodied Kyuubi.

But it wasn't enough.

With every blow, Naruto was desperate and fighting for one thing: the Kyuubi.

Obito fought the Eight-Tails, though it looked like he was _barely_ trying at all.

And then -

Chains shot out of the giant-ass statue, wrapping against the dead jinchuuriki and taking the jinchuuriki. One chain wrapped around the Kyuubi and the Hachibi each.

And they were sucked into the statue.

~:~

Her heart had stopped.

Hinata frantically tried to restart her heart. Cutting open her side and grasping the frail organ, she pumped it.

 _Naruto. Please._

Madara had turned away, thinking her dead - Sasuke was running at him -

 _This isn't going to end well._ Hinata lowered herself to breathe into Naruto's mouth. _Naruto, you have got to wake up._

A few Uzumaki ran up, helping.

Hinata was delicately moved aside, ever-so-slowly.

Helpless, the heiress could only watch as they tried to get her heart pumping again.

 _Let this end soon,_ Hinata prayed.

~:~

Kikiya looked at the Elder.

"We must help." It was her unexpected words that brought attention to her. "Father... Naruto. _Naruto_ -sama needs our help."

"I have vowed not to interfere in human wars," Mother said. "And until this war is over, none of you will, either."

Kikiya felt like screaming in anger.

She stalked out of the room, stalking to her workshop.

Spying her urns on the worktable, she grabbed one and took out paints. She lowered the paintbrush to paint, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

~:~

Naruto opened her eyes to the collective bijuu mindscape.

However, there was something strange - all of the bijuu were there.

 **"This is your human? She looks powerful. Pathetic, but powerful."** This was said by the monkey one.

"I'm dead." It was a rather blunt way of putting it. There was no pain, so yes, she assumed she was dead.

 **"At least you're calm about it,"** the Slug said. One of her tails nudged the sleeping man with the flute. **"This one panicked. Like, seriously."**

Naruto felt an overwhelming amount of sadness. She started to cry.

 **"And there's the panicking,"** observed the Monkey.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out. "I wanted to save you...But I couldn't. I was too late or too weak! Or too cowardly!" She pressed the heel of her hand to her eyes. "I just... I have no excuse! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Kurama!"

Kurama snorted.

 **"So she knows your name, Kurama? You were always weak. Liked to act tough, but -"** the Monkey started, but was cut off.

"Oh, stop bickering already," sighed the one on top of his head. He was a built man, with red hair and a beard. "I am Roushi, jinchuuriki of the Yonbi."

"Han, jinchuuriki of the Gobi," the dolphin-horse's human said. His eyes were the only things that showed.

"Hi," the Nekomata's jinchuuriki said. She was an ash-blonde woman that seemed to have a cat's tail in her hair. "I'm Ni'i Yugito."

"Takeshi Fuu!" beamed the mint-haired girl over the beetle.

"Utakata," the flute man said calmly.

"Yagura," the Yondaime Mizukage said. "Are we waiting for two more?"

"I hope not," Naruto said, throwing the nastiest look she could at Shukaku.

He snorted and pouted.

 **"Do not call Kurama's host pathetic,"** rumbled the Hachibi. **"We are all trapped in the Statue."**

 **"No,"** Kurama refuted. **"Half of me is outside. Fucking Uchiha didn't notice."**

"He's hot, though." Naruto blushed as Kurama growled at her. "I'm _allowed_ to appreciate the male physique, Kurama! Geez. He's got _muscles,_ now that I think about it. But no, if I get back there I'm going to rip him limb from limb, rip out his intestines and _shove his sword so far up his ass he chokes on it!"_ Naruto took a deep breath calming herself down. A little.

 **"To be the bearer of bad news, he can't go through all of that if he's alive,"** pointed out the Monkey. **"Son Goku is my name."**

Apparently violence won over him.

"Hi, Son Goku," Naruto smiled. Then she frowned. "And actually, he's _undead._ He'll just reform."

"That's screwed up," observed Fuu. "But I like your violent tendencies!" she added helpfully.

"Thanks," Naruto said dryly.

" **Why did you say that you were sorry?"** asked the Nekomata.

"Because I hate that you've been used by shinobi who want nothing more than to cause you wars. I wanted to stop them. But I _couldn't._ Please... If you want it, you may take my head."

She bowed her head, ashamed.

 **"Shukaku."**

 **"Matatabi."**

 **"Isobu."**

 **"Son Goku, obviously."**

 **"Saiken!"**

 **"Lucky Seven Chomei."**

 **"Gyuki."**

 **"Kurama."**

Their names. Naruto sniffled.

 **"Look up, you moron,"** Kurama snapped.

Naruto looked up. They were all holding out their hands.

Hesitantly, she fist-bumped the pile.

Healing energy rushed in.

She glanced at Kurama, who looked away stubbornly.

She smiled. "Thank you," she said sincerely. To all of them. "I will not forget this."

~"~

She was bored. The bijuu were chatting among themselves, and she was stuck in here.

Then again, she _was_ dead.

She sighed and flopped onto her back.

One of Kurama's tails encircled her and deposited her on his head.

 **"- she explodes out of the ground and her fist catches on the other human's chin, taking him completely by surprise,"** Kurama was saying. **"She's breathing heavily and is severely hurt, but she still has the balls to say 'I told you I could win'."**

"Are you seriously telling them about my chuunin exams?" Naruto frowned.

 **"It was the beginning of the end of your faked happiness,"** Kurama replied to her. **"Of course, I still don't understand why you went along with being banished from Konoha..."**

"I was tired, that's why," Naruto answered. "I hated being pressured. I got the _teme_ back, so everything's good. Or... It will be."

 **"Do you think that you can stop the Uchiha?"** asked Saiken.

Naruto shrugged. "I have to stop the Juubi now."

 **"And my mother."**

Everyone in the mindscape turned to see an old man.

 **"Father,"** Kurama said, sounding surprised.

"So you're the Sage of Six Paths?" Naruto wondered. "You did a good job in keeping Kurama safe, if I do say so." She rubbed that one spot on Kurama's head that she knew he liked. A soft rumble came from the Kyuubi.

 **"Thank you,"** he said. **"But I am here to talk to you, and you alone for now, my child."**

Naruto reluctantly jumped off of Kurama's head. Once her foot hit the ground, the mindscape turned blue.

 **"I must first tell you a story,"** Otsutsuki Hagoromo rumbled.

~:~

Saki stared at the old man in her mindscape. "I'm the transmigrated soul of your crazy-ass mother?" The old man nodded. "Then I... I'll seal myself away. To keep from hurting anyone."

 **"No. That isn't necessary."**

Saki looked up at him. "How? How is it not necessary?"

 **"Because I believe that you are not my mother,"** he responded easily. **"Just as Uzumaki Naruto is not my son, nor is she me."**

"Wait. Your soul is also in my bestie?" Saki gaped.

 **"It is a long story, but yes. I have to hold out the hope that my brother, Hamura, and his soul-piece in Indra has finally won out."**

Saki looked up at him. "And what about me?" she asked carefully.

Hagoromo's ancient eyes bored into hers.

 **"Time will tell,"** he said at last. **"Only a fragment of my mother's power remains in her prison. When that comes out, I believe we will all see."**

Saki nodded. "I will protect Naruto and Sasuke," she vowed.

Hagoromo smiled.

~:~

Naruto's eyes opened to a night sky. A shudder of the earth made her flinch, and there was a few exhausted cries of 'she's awake!' and 'she's alive, thank _kamisama!'._

Naruto sat up, eyeing her palm.

 _I am Asura. I must stop the Juubi before it goes into its final state._ Naruto stood, seeing Sasuke. She looked around - _Gai is fighting Madara and he's going to die._

She felt the sun on her palm warm up.

Madara sent Gai flying back. A Truth-Seeking Orb shot towards him -

 _\- Truth-Seeking Orbs destroy the soul of the person. You can touch them without being hurt - and you can create or destroy them with the staff. You must get the staff,_ Hagoromo had told her.

She ran forward, ignoring the cries of her clansmen. She jumped up and kicked the Truth-Seeking Orb away from his prone form. Then she knelt and pressed her hand against the flickering flame that was his life-force.

"You are still alive," Madara commented.

"I am still alive," she nodded. She noticed he no longer looked dead; he was extremely pale and he had two Rinnegan eyes still.

Her eyes moved over the battlefield. It was hell.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked Madara, tears in her eyes. She looked at him. "Why... Why can't you be satisfied with the world?"

"Because Obito agreed with me." He grinned. "This world is nothing but an illusion... And I will prove that."

"How, by casting a world-wide _genjutsu_ on this world?" Naruto glared at him, all tears gone. "You can't honestly expect anyone to get behind this. It's fucked up."

"Perhaps," conceded Madara. "But your philosophy is as weak, if not weaker, than Hashirama's."

Naruto lifted her jaw. "You do realize that I am part Senju, and that I'm _related_ to him, right?"

"Interesting," Madara said, sounding like it was indeed. "Explains for your power. And sword skills - is _anything_ truly yours, or is it Senju?"

"No," Naruto smiled. "It's not all Senju. You see, I was taught by a boy with a Sharingan." His Rinne eyes widened in shock. "His name was Uchiha Shisui. And he was a _legend."_

Naruto sped forward.

Shisui, herself - both had made names for themselves in this world. And if Naruto died, then she died.


	75. 75

Unknown to the members on the battlefield, one Shiro-Zetsu was still crawling around. Natashi turned to speak with Neji, and he saw the Shiro-Zetsu behind him.

Natashi yelled -

\- Neji's heart was pierced by wood.

"NEJI!"

Natashi changed genders, knowing it would probably help her move faster. It did, and she was able to catch the Hyuuga before he fell completely on the ground.

"Neji. Neji, look up." Neji did, but he was losing a lot of blood extremely fast. "HELP!" she cried. "MEDIC!"

Neji rested his hand on hers. The Shiro Zetsu was violently stabbed behind her.

"I know you said... You wanted to die without regrets." He was fading, and fading fast. "But... I have to be selfish. Naruto, I'm in love with you."

Natashi started to cry. _Kamis,_ why - why did he have to tell her on his deathbed. This could have gone differently. WAY differently.

"Ne- Neji, please. Just be quiet."

"I love you," he breathed. "And... Kick his ass... I don't wanna see you... In the afterlife so soon."

Natashi sobbed. _Kami, no. Please._ Neji's seal started to fade away, and his eyes. His lavender eyes. Natashi cradled his head. "Please, Neji. Stay with me. _Please!"_

His lips quirked up in a smile, even as the light started to fade from his eyes.

"I'm free," he breathed. "Please don't cry."

"How can I not?" she asked, not knowing that he was gone already. "How can I not be sad?!"

"Naruto." Hinata's voice was heard. "Naruto. Come on. We have to fight. We have to fight the body of the Juubi - Madara has most of the chakra of the Juubi, but we've got to fight _now."_

Natashi set him down gently, raising her face.

 _Kill Madara,_ she thought furiously to her counterpart.

Naruto punched Madara across the face in the distance.

"Destroy the Juubi," Natashi ordered. "And the tree. Take your pick of targets."

She was angry, sad, and terrified out of her mind. That order made the most sense out of all of them. She ran forward, sick of standing around.

 _For you, Neji. I'll kick his ass._

~:~

Shikaku knew that they'd be targeted. He looked around at the group and was about to open his mouth when Naruto appeared.

It was just a clone, but she looked like she had something to say.

"What?" Shikaku asked.

Naruto told him.

Everyone stared at her.

"Why?" Shikaku asked. He wasn't asking rudely or anything. But her informing him... She had a request, didn't she?

"Because I want you to tell Gaara and Neji something." She looked almost reluctant. She told him what she wanted to tell Gaara and Neji.

Shikaku swallowed. "Won't the blast incinerate our bodies?"

Naruto shook her head. "If one piece remains..." She let him fill in the blanks. "Well, that's my plan, and my request."

"I'll do it," Shikaku promised.

Naruto smiled. "Thank you."

~:~

"It destroyed HQ..." whispered Shikamaru, horrified.

Natashi's red eyes flicked to him. "Your dad will be fine." Her eyes flicked to Ino's and she said the same thing. For a moment, a dark part of Shikamaru wondered why the hell _she_ got to say that.

 _Her_ father wasn't dead.

But then, she had grown up as an orphan.

War seemed to bring out the ugliest in people.

Shikamaru took a trembling breath. "All right. Let's get all this done."

Natashi nodded. Then fell.

"I can't," Natashi admitted.

Shikamaru paused.

"The real Naruto's feeding off of me and every clone she has," Natashi sighed. "So it's not a good idea to do anything right now."

Shikamaru glanced at the Shinju tree. Uzumakis were making a dent in the base while Naruto and Madara fought. "Can you trade thoughts with your original? If you can, you can take the bijuu out of Madara."

"Yeah," Natashi nodded. "I can do that."

~:~

Naruto decked Madara, hot fury coursing through her.

 _Naruto!_

She ducked beneath his sword. _What?_

She'd felt disappointment when it had been her own voice instead of Kurama. She may not have spoken to him much in the past few years, but there was a sort of comfort in knowing he was there.

 _You need to resonate with Madara's chakra. Draw out the bijuu._

 _Okay._

Naruto shoved her hand in his chest; she used her chakra and it resonated with Madara's.

Around them, they appeared to be standing in a place with a starlit sky. Comets streaked above them.

And the bijuu were all there, in shapeless forms with chains all locked around them; Madara's chakra was chaining them in here.

"What will you do?" Madara demanded.

"Save them."

She ripped her hand out of his chest, bringing the chakra of the bijuu with her. She jumped back and felt for Kurama's chakra.

 _There._ It warmed under her hand. She looked up at Madara, who was frozen.

She smirked as he tried to grasp the bijuu -

\- Naruto was shoved out of the way, out of the chakra space. She collided with the Shinju tree, cracking her head on it. But she'd been successful.

The bijuu attacked the tree, blowing great chunks out of it.

Sasuke's Susano'o dropped over her.

"He's activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi!" Sasuke informed her, making her heart stop.

 _Kurama, what do we do?_

She waited for a response.

 _Shit, I forgot._ Misery crashed through her before she recalled she had just brought him out.

"Kyuubi-sama! What do we do?!" she called to Kurama, keeping his name to her heart.

 **"About what?"** Kurama rumbled, swiveling to look at her.

"That!" She pointed upwards.

 **"Uchiha brat! Use your Susano'o! Saki-san, use** ** _your_** **Susano'o to speed up time around yourself so you're not affected!"**

"What about you?" Saki called, the green Susano'o appearing around her.

 **"We won't be affected,"** Saiken explained to her quietly. **"Because we** ** _are_** **the Juubi... Kind of. It's hard to explain. Just do as we say."**

Sakura stepped closer to Naruto, opening her mouth as Sasuke and Kakashi landed close to her.

"Naruto, we don't need you," she said in an apologetic tone.

Naruto turned the coldest glare she could muster onto the pink-haired bitch.

"Sakura, I don't give a rat's ass if you survive," she said, her voice flat, a fake smile on her face. "I care about the people on this battlefield in general. And if the Kyuubi tells you something, you should probably listen."

 **"Yes,"** Kurama grinned at Sakura as Sasuke's Susano'o started to appear. **"Especially if you don't want me to rip you to pieces."**

Sakura swallowed, and their view was obscured.

~:~

 _Naruto opened her eyes to a normal day. She got up, said hello to her mother, her father, and her little sister. She ate toast, then slipped out the window while her mother yelled._

 _She was greeted happily._

 _She looked at herself in a windowfront, and there it was._

 _Purple distorted it, showing a world of hell. Or a battlefield._

 _"Naruto-sama! You're going to be late!"_

 _Naruto sighed and ran to the Academy._

 _As the day passed, the strange visions plagued her. Visions of a blurry purple outline seemed to persist._

 _"Naruto-sama, you need to pay attention or you won't pass," Iruka-sensei warned._

 _"Yeah, yeah," Naruto dismissed, pretty much ignoring him._

 _"Naruto-sama!" Hinata smiled at her. "Want to come over to the clan house to train?"_

 _Naruto stared at her, another vision of a short-haired, blushing, stuttering girl overlapping the image of the long-haired, confident heiress._

 _"I can't," Naruto lied. "Clan matters and all that." In truth, her mother WAS planning on telling her about clan stuff, but that was when she was older. More experienced._

 _Naruto needed to figure something else out._

 _She blinked -_

Naruto shook herself out of the image and the fake life.

She had to admit she was impressed. And also kind of worried at how she'd been briefly caught in the _genjutsu._

Sasuke blinked, and Naruto realized he was crying a little bit.

Saki appeared as the moon stopped glowing.

And shattered.

"Oh dear," Naruto managed. "That... Can't be good."

Madara started getting bigger, some black _thing_ crawling all over his body.

"No," agreed Sakura. "That's not good."

"But... The Naka Shrine..." Sasuke sounded lost.

Naruto glanced over to Saki, who looked like she was having a hard time staying awake. With a start, Naruto realized all of the ones - including herself that had been out there - out of the bubble that was Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto in Sasuke's Susano'o were all trapped in the _genjutsu._

Saki finally crumpled, her Susano'o vanishing as she did so as Madara transformed into a woman.

Naruto blinked as Sasuke released _his_ Susano'o, possibly to conserve his chakra. She tilted her head as her brain tried to understand what she was seeing - a woman. Madara had transformed into a woman.

"He's a she?" Naruto tried.

 **"No, you moron!"** Kurama sounded... Scared. **"That bitch is Kaguya! Mother of chakra!"**

 _Oh... Shit._

Kaguya's Byakugan eyes bulged.

Naruto's heart stopped as the sun on her hand burned.

Hair, softer than silk, wrapped tightly around Naruto and Sasuke.

"Hagoromo... Hamura..." The black _thing_ that was obviously the creature Kuro-Zetsu peeked out from her sleeve. Naruto and Sasuke were frozen as the creature latched onto them and started sucking out their chakra.

Naruto gritted her teeth.


	76. 76

**Final chapter! There IS a short sequel coming. SHORT. Hope you like~**

 **~:~**

Sasuke heard her grinding her teeth and looked at her - she didn't look good. Sweat was already plastering her hair to her body, and she already looked extremely pale.

Kaguya leaned closer to him.

"My loyal son..."

He activated his Sharingan, attempting to ensnare her for a second. A _second._

Kaguya blinked, and the illusion was banished by a single wave of her chakra.

"Do not try your petty illusions on me, child," she whispered. As if unable to help herself, she brushed a lock of Sasuke's hair out of his face - then she turned and brought Naruto's chin up.

Naruto looked like she was suddenly drugged.

 _"Mother? Why do you gift her with chakra?"_

"She is dying..." Kaguya brushed the red hair out of Naruto's face. "I don't want her dying so soon."

Her voice was faint, soothing... And cold. Yet... Warm.

It was difficult to get a hold on her mood.

"Go to sleep, my children," Kaguya whispered. "You'll never have to worry about anything anymore."

For one long, horrifying moment, Sasuke felt his eyes drooping.

But he fought it.

"Don't..." Naruto moved her head, turning aquamarine eyes to Kaguya. "Tell _me_ what to _do!"_

With a tremendous heave, Naruto exploded from the grasp of Kuro-Zetsu. She slammed her hands together, bursting into yellow flames again.

Ripping Sasuke from Kuro-Zetsu's grasp, Both teens found themselves suddenly paralyzed by the force of Kaguya's sheer power.

"You dare..." Kaguya moved towards them slowly. "Disobey your mother?"

Naruto's eyes widened.

Then they hardened.

"I had one mother, _bitch!"_ Naruto's flames went higher. "And her name was _Uzumaki Kushina!"_

Naruto sprang at her, hands flashing in a jutsu that Sasuke definitely knew.

 _She won't fall for that, you moron!_

"She's not going to fall for that, you idiot!"

Clouds poofed into existence.

Everything froze.

Men appeared, based on - as far as Sasuke could tell - every single man Naruto had encountered aside from Tazuna (and maybe Orochimaru, because that would be creepy as fuck). They varied, obviously, not even a single copy of any man like Deidara existing in the group of fake men.

Kaguya _stared._

 _Maybe it was the lack of men on the moon?_

Naruto dispelled the men and _decked_ Kaguya.

Even the bijuu down there remained stunned into silence as Kaguya slammed into the ground.

" _Reverse Sexy no jutsu harem,_ bitch! This is the history of the entire shinobi world you're facing here, sweetheart!"

Sasuke sighed.

"You're crazy."

Truth-Seeking orbs zoomed around Naruto, one of them forming into a staff.

Sasuke glanced at her. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to end her." Naruto said, blue eyes blazing. "I'm not letting that bitch call me her _daughter."_ She spat the word out like it offended her. "I already have a mother, and I don't need her _pretending."_

Sasuke privately agreed. He activated his sole Rinnegan eye, his other eye burning as he forced it to turn into his Mangekyou.

Flames exploded from his eye to the rising _Kami no Usagi_.

Kaguya brushed the flames aside, her hair coming alive and racing towards them.

Sand rose like a pointed sword, destroying the hair.

One of the Kyuubi's tails tapped Naruto on the shoulder. Naruto's eyes became cross-shaped, and the Kyuubi's tail vanished.

Sasuke created his Chidori as the sand blocked the hair from coming at him - he flew through the air using his Susano'o's wings, aiming to spear that glaring face that had dared try to take the place of his mother.

"I have my own mother, too," Sasuke growled, pushing himself. "I don't need _you."_

He overtook the sand and missed Kaguya by inches.

She tapped his stomach, and he flew into a branch of the Shinjuu tree, nearly dislodging some of the people on the tree.

"She certainly packs a punch." He stood and noticed Sakura resting. He jumped down in front of her, kneeling in front of her and slapping her face.

Sakura jerked awake.

"Unfortunately, we need you." He grasped her arm. "Your strength is useful to us."

Sakura bit her lip and nodded.

She didn't touch him, thank kamis.

A Truth-Seeking Orb became a platform, and they both glanced up to Naruto, who was using her clones as distractions while she gathered nature energy to use Sage Mode.

On the ground, Kakashi appeared, having been taking care of Obito in the confusing mess of fighting. His mask was still up, but he tugged it down. It was mostly in shreds anyway. Obito no longer had a hole in his chest, and he looked... Well, exhausted.

Sasuke turned back to fight as Naruto's chakra reached out and touched him and Sakura, covering them in a small chakra shroud; Sasuke could feel his chakra growing exponentially.

The three of them moved in close - Naruto, with her sand holding Kaguya's strange hair at bay, Sakura using her monstrous strength to hit the air and send shockwaves towards her, and Sasuke with his chidori.

Together, the three members of Team 7 cornered Kaguya and cut off Kuro-Zetsu from her. Naruto bit her thumb and sealed Zetsu in a pocket of space - Sasuke could see the air itself marked with the seal that Naruto had created out of desperation before the seal vanished. There was no time to look for a small vibration in the air, though surely it _was_ there, because Kaguya got upset at the sealing of Kuro-Zetsu.

She growled, and Naruto's chains exploded from Naruto's back, loosely wrapping the ancient woman as the woman attempted to blast them back - but since these were Naruto's chains, from her own chakra and made of her own will, they didn't move.

Sakura hit Kaguya on the head as Naruto's chains tightened - both Naruto and Sasuke sped forward, Naruto with her blazing sword glowing like the sun, and Sasuke with his chidori giving off silvery sparks that looked like the moon.

Kaguya didn't stand a chance.

Together, the Uzumaki sword and Sasuke's unique chidori pierced Kaguya's flesh.

For a moment, she looked stunned.

Then her horns seemed to vanish in sparkly silver dust, and her hair shortened. Kaguya's Byakugan eyes faded, the luminescent eyes staring at Sasuke and Naruto with zero anger or hate or sadness.

And yet she was crying, still.

As Naruto's chains retracted, Kaguya sighed. Her body faded in those same silver sparkles, a few particles entering Naruto, Sasuke, and an unconscious Saki a few miles away.

The moon appeared slowly as Kaguya faded; a prison it may have been, but with Kaguya's death it seemed to be rather... Empty.

It was ridiculous, to have it seem so empty.

And with Kaguya's death, Naruto released her Sage mode, her bijuu cloak mode, and let the Kyuubi's chakra fade.

Sasuke was able to grab her right before she hit the ground.

~:~

Naruto knew Kaguya hadn't fixed her, just given her more chakra so that her and Sasuke would be sucked out of chakra around the same point. She could still feel the chakra, but her body was failing because there was _still_ an imbalance in her system. Kaguya had not helped that.

"Neji," Naruto managed to say to Sasuke. "Release... Mugen..."

Sasuke's eyes, for once, showed compassion.

(Naruto had once privately thought that Sasuke could _never_ show compassion. She was wrong.)

Kurama, in a human form, walked up to them as they performed the jutsu.

"Naruto." He looked pensive.

Naruto smiled a little sadly. "Let me see Neji," she requested, feeling the drain. Kurama knocked her off her feet, bridal-style, and jumped over to the other tailed beasts and Neji - and Madara.

Madara was fading, that much Naruto could see.

She had made herself a vow once.

"I suppose I have to keep that," she said as Kurama set her down next to Neji.

She pulled in the chakra of however many Ketsueki clones she had out there, amassing _just enough._

Kurama stiffened. "Naruto - you -"

Naruto smiled a little.

"I keep my promises," she gasped as she began the handsigns. Madara was gone by the time she finished, and her hair turned white.

The King of Hell appeared, opening his mouth and releasing thousands of green lights.

Madara, having been dead the least longest, woke up completely healed - without Hashirama's cells on his chest. The jutsu - Art of Rinne Rebirth (or the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique) - fixed all imperfections that were apparent and revived the person as themselves.

(A single finger missing? The jutsu basically said, _oh, no worries. We'll fix your finger! Oh, let's not forget those nasty wounds you've suffered! Need a new hand? No problem!_ Or even, _only one cell left? Not a problem!_ So yeah, it fixed most issues. Obviously, it couldn't fix personality issues.)

Naruto had altered it slightly, though.

All who were stuck in this world - like some Edo Tensei would be - and if their original chakra lingered... They would be revived, too.

And if they wanted a second chance.

Obviously, Naruto had refused to bring back the ones with literal killer intent, and those that had the whole 'destroy the world for no reason' vibe going. Edo Tensei'd dead were all unconscious as Naruto's chakra flooded them, their sealed bodies becoming unsealed.

~:~

Madara opened his eyes, realizing he must have been genuinely dead for about five minutes or so.

He looked over to the teen - no, the woman - who had done it.

"But..." Madara swallowed as she looked at him, her white hair showing what she'd done. "Why? You won."

"I'd rather die like this than painfully slowly," she explained quietly. "This way, I can do some good." Her body was trembling. "I guess I'm a hopeless romantic," she said, her voice drifting. "Because I believe in second chances." Her gaze met his, solemn and gentle. "I think you know enough not to waste it." She looked at the breathing boy in her lap. "My name is Naruto, -ttebayo. And this is Neji. It's nice to see you again, Madara." She coughed weakly. "Kyuubi... Tell them.. He deserves one last chance." The Kyuubi - in human form - moved forward as the girl slumped, her eyes weakly fluttering. "I have a stack... Of letters in... My desk at home." She smiled at the old demon, who looked -

 _Was that sadness?_

The Kyuubi nodded, sitting down and holding her body in her lap.

"I know," he whispered to her, speaking to a close relationship between the two.

"Don't kill him," Naruto told him, her voice coming out strong and stern.

Amusement passed over the Kyuubi's face.

"I won't."

~:~

Naruto knew he wouldn't. She had faith that he would keep his word.

"Good." She looked past his head. "The... Time?"

 _Did I make it?_

"Happy Birthday, Uzumaki Naruto." Kurama's red eyes joined her eye in stargazing.

A satisfied smile snaked its was on her face.

She'd made it to her seventeenth birthday.

She closed her eyes, her thoughts fading.

~:~

Saki walked over to the point of Neji's death, feeling a bit _too_ refreshed.

The reason why?

Saki collapsed on the ground, hugging her body, mind almost refusing to believe that Naruto was dead.

( _She was smiling,_ Saki noted distractedly.)

"Where is she?"

Tsunade's yell didn't make Saki less immobile.

Saki stayed there as Tsunade came up and looked at the young woman laying on the lap of a human-ish demon.

Slowly, the ninja arrived, seeing the reason for their life.

And the Konoha ninja in particular seemed guilty.

~:~

Two whole weeks to fill out everything necessary to release hundreds of alive ninja that used to dead back into the villages.

In that time, a deal had been hashed out.

The sole casualty in the war would be buried - and sealed - at the Fire Temple, despite the fact that she had not - and most ninja weren't - religious.

Together, the invited parties moved her body to the Fire Temple, where the nine demons were.

The Kyuubi placed a hand on Naruto's dead body, and like a mirage her features became like his - a little more ragged, more feral.

Some of the demon clan, too, appeared in invitation.

It was a quiet affair, with no speaking and lots of tears. Nobody could gather themselves to speak - instead, they simply stood under the sun.

It was a week later when they were gathered together in a pub when Saki was the first to speak. But she didn't speak of memories between her and Naruto, or why she'd been friends. It wasn't even to say that she loved Naruto.

Saki stood, her movement catching all eyes in the pub, those who were awkwardly staying away from the shinobi group all dressed in black.

She raised her glass, full of sake.

"To Naruto," she spoke, ending the awkwardness.

"To Naruto," echoed the group.

The revived jinchuuriki - the ones who had died before the battlefield, who were now alive and reunited with their bijuu with a renewed understanding - toasted the loudest.

"To the usuratonkachi," Sasuke added.

~:~

When Neji woke up, he was in a hospital. A nurse was standing over him, her eyes wide as she took in his wide-awake form.

"Alert the Hyuuga head and the Hokage that Neji-san is awake!" the nurse called.

Neji, surprisingly, did not feel any pain.

"Am I dead?" he asked the nurse, who blinked in shock.

"No, Neji-san, you're not." She started writing on her clipboard.

Sakura, in hospital nurse clothes, appeared, looking ready for surgery.

"Sakura-san... You're not dead." Neji frowned.

"Neither are you, Neji-san," Sakura informed him quietly.

Neji frowned at her.

"How?" He asked. "I remember dying. There's no way -"

He stopped.

His eyes flicked up to Sakura's.

"I want to see Naruto."

Sadness filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Neji." Sakura swallowed. "You can't."

"She has to be in the hospital - there's no way she died during the battle." He refused to believe that the girl he loved was -

"She died after the battle." Sakura's face was pale and pinched. "There was - another enemy that came. Madara's alive - living with Sasuke." Sakura didn't look him in the face.

Neji swallowed.

"You died, Neji. We didn't hook you up to a monitor and then take you off. You were _dead_. Naruto - she used one of her Rinnegan eye techniques and revived everyone. It's not something most of them know, just that there was one casualty, and everyone assumes Naruto somehow did it or something, but..." Sakura's eyes were glistening. "She died for everyone on that battlefield."

Neji believed her.

~:~

Naruto opened her eyes in a white, white room. It had hundreds of ghosts in it, people waiting possibly in limbo.

But there was one person watching her, beckoning her.

Naruto walked forward, the ghosts fading from her view.

The woman - for Naruto could definitely tell that it was a woman - was no longer facing her.

A door materialized. The woman stepped through it. Naruto entered.

It was another white room, but this time it had a black chair with a wooden desk. A mirror stood against one side of the room. The woman was nowhere in sight.

The door shut behind Naruto, and Naruto turned to stare at it, knowing that whoever had brought her here to this white, white place was going to be standing there when she turned around.

She turned around.

Uzumaki Kushina beamed at her.

"Hello, _musume,"_ Kushina greeted her daughter.

Naruto gaped, totally not expecting that.

" _You're_ the shinigami?"

Kushina chuckled. "Not quite, my dear. I am simply one of the many." She moved to around her desk. "I must say, the work my husband did on the seal was executed perfectly by the fake. Summoning me when the Kyuubi was extracted? Genius. Too bad it didn't work on Madara, seeing as he _was_ more powerful than I alone."

Naruto frowned, thinking - and it occurred to her.

"You - _you_ took Danzou's soul!"

"Yep!" Kushina cheerfully admitted. "He's in the waiting room. I really hated that guy, so I'm not letting him in my office for another two thousand years."

Naruto swallowed. "I see." She then frowned. "Were you messing with me then?"

Kushina giggled. "I couldn't help myself." She sat in her chair. "Now, Uzumaki Naruto..." She pulled out a sheet of paper, a smile appearing on her face. "There is a few matters I need to deal with in regards to you, my dear."

Naruto squirmed where she stood.

Kushina caught it.

"Oh, don't worry. I was kidding. Go through the mirror." Kushina smiled. "I think you deserve the vacation."

Naruto did as her mother said, not looking back as she did so.

~:~

Saki was drunk. She knew that.

But she didn't care.

She kept drinking. Over and over.

And then she told Itachi what she was going to do on one of her benders as they were headed to their bustling Uchiha district (if you could count 'bustling' as only a few Uchiha living there). He was so surprised he nearly dropped her.

"I," she said grandly, "am going to find a way to revive my idiot friend and punch her."

"There is no way," Itachi said to her, his voice quietly exasperated after he recovered from almost dropping her. "We've tried."

"There _is,"_ insisted Saki. "And I am going to find it."

Even if it meant Saki would give her own - because Saki really didn't know how to cope without Naruto being alive and sending her random-ass letters, or sending her failed art projects.

Saki's mind was firmly fixed on the idea.

There really wasn't anything that anyone else could do about it.

~:~

In Sound, there was a woman who had recently given birth. She had no husband.

Her name was Kirasaki Shiro. Her son's name was Kirosaki Mitsuki.

And Orochimaru would pay the price for abandoning them.


End file.
